The Ghost From My Past
by KeeAmunSekhmet
Summary: Still devastated with her life, Bella has decided to move back to her birth town in Forks after her girlfriend's tragic death in order to start a new life. Along the way, she meets this inhumanly beautiful, hot, mysterious girl. Everything goes smooth until someone in her past decides to come in between and turns her life more chaotic. Femslash. All human.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, only the thought, the story, and maybe the frenzied idea that Bella and Alice should be together. And/or Bella and Quinn (from Glee) should have at least a sexy moment together.**

**This is a girlxgirl story. If you're not into it, then please don't bother reading this. Read at your own risk.**

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_Chapter One_

"Don't you ever, ever, ever, dare leave me or else I won't let you sleep at night." She whispered in a husky, sultry voice. Her tone sounded serious and unyielding; for some reason, I found it soothing and ensuring.

Her warm, shaky breath in my ear sent lusty tingles around my neck down to the very end of my spine, igniting a new heat to my center. She nibbled my earlobe, licking the innermost part teasingly with the tip of her tongue. She was on top of me, our breasts pressing tightly to each other. I could feel her heart beating so strong, so fast. Her wet folds glided smoothly along the full length of my clammy thigh. I rocked her hips, following her steady rhythm. "Oh! C'mon, baby." I smirked. I always loved hearing those words coming from her during sex and seeing her biting her bottom lip seductively.

She pulled herself up, propping her left hand on my shoulder while the other was moving her silky blond hair to the other side of her neck so I could fully see her beautiful flushed face. She looked at me like she wanted to eat me anytime soon. She pulled my thigh higher, panting heavily through her mouth. She lowered her head while increasing her motion. She uttered a throaty moan, gripping my shoulder a tad rougher. I felt her body shiver and I knew what was coming next. "Fuck me, please." I pulled her again to my insanely cold body. I grabbed her perfect, smooth ass, kneading it with right amount of force that I knew she would surely love.

"Oh baby, please." I had known her for too long that I knew how desperate and horny she was right now. I smiled knowingly to myself. I was kinda glad she did not notice that. She sure was busy doing her movements on my thigh. If she caught me smirking, she would punch me straight right on the gut. She extremely hated to see the smug look on my face.

She groaned in frustration and grabbed my right hand from her butt cheek. She looked at me, narrowing her deep green eyes in an irritated manner. She thought I was just teasing her to death.

She pulled my hand to her mouth and smiled slyly at me. I stiffened at how sexy and evil she was at that moment. We'd been doing this in regular intervals since last year and I still couldn't get enough of her. She was like milk to my cereal, butter to my pancake, or gas to my car. We were that close. Super close.

She stopped gliding on my thigh and moved her body, straddling her legs over my pelvis. She fixed her tempting gaze at me as she licked my two fingers slowly, starting at the base. In a circular motion, she continued licking and nibbling, leaving wet trails until her tongue reached the tip of my two fingertips. She pushed my hand into her mouth, gently sucking my fingers and licking it at the same time.

After a minute of making it fitting for penetration, she pulled my hand out of her mouth, making a pop sound when she sucked my fingertips before totally pulling it out. She smiled at me intensely as if I was the most beautiful and sexiest girl on the planet. Oh fuck! I so loved her smile, her face, and everything about her. I could live just by looking at her angelic face. She was so gorgeous, smashingly hot with a sizzling, one in a million smile. I was so damn lucky to have her. With that look and that body, I really couldn't ask for more. She directed my hand to her center and gosh, she was crazy, dripping wet. She slowly slid my two fingers against her pussy, making my palm brushed the pink, bulged clit. "Yeaah. . . fuck!" She moaned loudly, rocking her hips against my palm. "Please, baby. Pleeease." She pleaded harshly, arching her buttocks while her upper body leaning forward so it was easy for me to sweep my tongue to her proud nipples. With a single swift movement of her wrist, she pushed my fingers inside her. I couldn't help stop the moan from leaving my throat. She was so tight and so fucking wet. She jiggled over me while I was pumping in and out of her. "Harder." I continued to pump her and this time it was harder and rougher. "Yeah sweetie, that's it. Ah! It feels so good." Every thrust made her moan louder. I was not bothered by it since Renee, my mother, was out of town for a week with a man called Phil. So I was all alone at home with my beautiful, sweet girlfriend, Quinn. She was the captain of the school Cheerios, an epitome of impeccable beauty and flawlessness.

"Isabella," The way she called my name made me stop and looked at her for a split second. "No, baby. Don't stop." She reached for my forearm, pushing my whole arm down to make me move again. I grabbed her face with my left hand, catching her lips with my hungry ones. She bit my bottom lip softly, brushing it slowly with the tip of her tongue. As I slowly parted my lips, she darted her tongue into my mouth. I met hers halfway, exploring every inch of her mouth. Though I already memorized every part of it, it was still my favorite place to delve in. After a short moment, she broke off our tongue fight much to my disappointment. She tilted her head backwards with a long, lecherous groan. She fastened her pace, which stirred me to match up her performance. "Yeah baby. . . I'm coming. Al-most—" When I discerned her stopped breathing and stiffened on her upright position, I hastened and deepened my thrusts. One deeper, harder push and she convulsed, almost yelling my name in the height of her rapturous orgasm. I stroked her clit in circular motion and gave gentle, slower pumps to relieve her from the ecstatic tremors.

I took my fingers off her after she leaned back again on my chest. "That was nice." She said, gradually regaining her strength from exhaustion. There were lots of things I loved about her. To name a few, here's my top list starting from five down to one.

5. She's a tough opponent. She would never give in without a fight. Just be really, really extra careful, though. She's one foxy evil bitch. Mercy was never in her vocabulary.

4. She's highly clever and intelligent. She wouldn't accept yes or no for an answer. Therefore, just shut the hell up and listen to her or suffer the rest of your high school life.

3. All men bowed down and worshiped her immaculate beauty. She didn't have to do an effort to make herself noticeable. One flicker of her finger and ta-dah. . . All living creates went terribly berserk and be her slave.

2. She's a one crazy sex goddess. She wouldn't get easily exhausted even after a day of sexercising. Oh yeah, and never forget to prepare a water drum beside your bed. She would dry you out.

1. And the best thing I absolutely loved about her was her selfless and undying love for none other than her girlfriend of two years. Yep, that's right. That's me. I really had wondered why of all people, she chose me as her partner, to be her girlfriend. She could quickly and conveniently choose any other hot guy or girl she wanted considering her polish beauty and perfect physique. I was nowhere near her line. She was on top, in heaven and, well, I was non-existent. I was just a bubble of poisonous gas making the world more polluted. That was how different we were in physical attractiveness. I guessed she found me smart or funny and easy to be with. Maybe that was it. Because every time she laid her eyes on me, she always had this glow on her face and a wide smile that never left her lips.

"Hey, baby. What are you thinking?" She tilted her head up, eyeing me suspiciously. Her voice sounded concern, but she was just curious and. . . prying.

_I was thinking of how perfect you were and I am pretty much so lucky to have you in my almost too-good-to-be-true life._ "Nothing, babe. I'm just a bit tired." We had just spent the whole day doing our strenuous sexercise. Of course, I was crazy tired! But apparently, just like the rest before this, I could never tell her that. She would get mad and be suspicious, again. The last time I complained about our little activity, I ended up losing my voice. I had spent the whole evening delivering my pep-talk at her driveway. I almost got arrested for allegedly disturbing her neighbors' peace. As far as my sane mind was concerned, I had no single vivid memory of being that loud. Okay, I was loud, but not that loud.

There were also things I hated about her. She was truly overly possessive, protective, and jealous of every person who would dare approach and talk to me. She always had this absurd feeling that I would later leave her for someone else, for them. She really didn't have to be that insecure, because I totally loved her with every beat of my heart. Wow. How cliche. Where that came from? It might sound so melodramatic, but it's the truth. I would never leave her for someone else. I would be hers forever.

Every time we did this activity of ours, I always tend to skip school the following day for always getting muscle strains and horrible body aches. So I asked her softly and kindly if we could do this during the weekend, fortunately for me, she acquiesced. But did you forget she was one remarkably clever bitch? Yeah, she acquiesced all right, but under her kind conditions: I would enter every club she was in and spend all of my time with her and her alone after school, which included my Sundays, Holidays, and special occasions. That's more than time I'd spent at school and with my family, not that I really had one. Of course I had, but we were really not that close. She'd said she was being too considerate. Gosh!

"B? Honestly?" She pulled herself up, hovering a feet away from me. I met her gaze and sighed inwardly at her annoyed expression. This is not happening again. I pushed myself up, propping my arms on the bed. I put a sweet, innocent smile, but she knew me too well. "Well, tell me what's on your mind, baby." She arched her perfect eyebrow, eyeing me steadily with the demanding tone that said 'Tell me or suffer and die.' She's one hell scary woman. Yes, I was so damn lucky to have her. Sarcastically speaking.

Every time I zoned out like this, she always had this ridiculous notion in her head that I was mentally cheating on her. What the!

"What is it!? I swear if you're cheating on me, I'm going to rip your heart out and make your bitch's life a living hell." I cringed at the thought. To me, she's the perfect, lovable girlfriend with a beauty and heart of a white angel. But to others, she's an angel with a tail, razor-sharp teeth, and black wings _plus_ a beard.

I chuckled at her petty jealousy and mock anger. "You wouldn't do that." I was pretty much confident she would never do that to me, maybe to my other bitch of a girlfriend but not to me. She narrowed her eyes and thinned her lips. I knew that sexy, dubious look. I giggled, grabbed her by the waist and tugged her against me.

She yelped and laughed, tickling my sensitive spots behind my midsections. I screamed louder than I hoped and squirmed underneath her. She had this lusciously seductive smile and irresistible eyes that sucked out all the oxygen in my lungs, leaving me breathless and stunned. "And why is that?" She asked coquettishly.

"Because you love me." I said, not intending to say it in a question. She furrowed her brow and pouted her lips. She removed herself from my body only to lie down beside me. She sighed loudly before she grabbed my hand, intertwined our finger, and rested it on her firm, smooth stomach.

"Isabella," That name again. She's the only living person dared to utter that name to my face. Even though that name was in my birth certificate, I really loathed hearing and people calling me that name. She knew that of course, but she just loved teasing me. She knew I would never get mad at her for any reason. "You know how much you mean to me, right?" She swiveled her head to glance at me. She smiled when her gaze landed on my lips. "You're my soul mate, my heart and soul. I will always and forever be yours." She shifted her gaze at my chocolate brown eyes. "I love you so much, Bella. No matter what, I will never leave you. I will stick to you until the end of time." She moved closer and lifted her upper body so that her head was inches over my face. "Promise me, B. You'll love me and only me. . . for eternity."

* * *

"Hey there, beautiful." I smiled sadly as I placed the bouquet of red roses beneath the gravestone, not averting my gaze at the name boldly engraved in cursive with a golden paint. 'Lucy Quinn Fabray.' I cleared my excessively dry throat, which was already starting to get into my nerves. Who would care if I didn't drink a single drop of liquid the whole morning? I sighed heavily and loudly at my own foolish thought, squatting opposite of the grave marker.

Today was her birthday, our fourth anniversary as a couple, and sadly, her first year of death. I shut my eyes tightly at the memory of that drastic day. I was there yet I did not do anything to save her. I was miserably helpless and paralyzed. I couldn't do anything. I had just stood there and watched her die.

"Quinn." My voice faltered. I felt my whole body quivered, trembling with anger, sorrow, remorse, longing. . . all in one emotion. I was crying. It was nothing new to me. "Happy Birthday and Happy fourth, baby." I said, thankful that I still had a voice to speak without breaking. I bit my lower lip hard, harder that I already tasted a dewdrop of iron, but the pain was never enough for me. It would never ease the pain, the longing, the emptiness I felt inside. I was slowly dying. I wished I had died and buried with her twelve months ago. It would make me so much happier. But she left me without even saying goodbye. "Why did you leave me, Q? You said you'd never leave me. You promised." I wept with bitter rage and hopelessness. "Where's our forever now?" I whispered in a gruff voice. I continued to cry. I let all my dark emotions out while I still had the right to do so. Renee would never leave me alone at home after my countless suicidal attempts. I didn't want to cry in front of her. I just didn't like someone seeing me so weak and vulnerable, especially her.

"I miss you, Q. I miss us." I finally decided to sit, crossing my legs, on the ground. I propped my elbows on my inner thighs as I brushed my brown hair through my fingers, trying to alleviate the ache on my head. I tilted my head, looking blankly at the marble headstone. "Quin," I started. Although it'd been a year since she passed away, I still talked to her like she was still alive. Somehow, I had this bizarre feeling that she was attentively listening to me and watching my every move. I had to be careful of what to tell her and what to act. I didn't want her to get mad and pissed at me.

I smiled softly, imagining Quinn's pouting face. "You're so cute when you pout, scrunch your nose, or pucker your face in annoyance." I chuckled at a certain memory that flashed my mind. I felt my throat tightened so I instinctively rubbed my vocal cords as I cleared my throat to at least relieve the tension that was restraining me from talking or even uttering a sound.

"I'll move back to my birth town in Forks tomorrow." I paused, still gazing at the headstone. I was silently praying that I could, even for once, hear my girlfriend's voice. When I figured that would be really impossible, I sighed and continued my heart-warming speech. "Don't worry, baby. Charlie will take care of me. Everything will be fine." Which I highly doubted, by the way. I smiled, picturing her smiling back at me. "Er. . . So, do you have anything to say before I go?" Of course, but not that I could hear her anyway. "Right." I smiled wistfully, grazing each letter of her name, which was superbly engraved on the marble stone.

I was too absorbed of my light chitchat with my dead girlfriend that I did not notice the time. It was getting dark and, not to mention, really creepy. I looked skyward and decided that I should go. I stood clumsily, almost tripping myself to the ground. Good thing, I had a grip of the headstone before I completely fell and injured myself again. "It's like you don't want me to leave." I said playfully, smiling to myself at the eerie feeling of déjà vu.

As I leaned closer to the headstone, I closed my eyes and whispered a prayer for Quinn. I slowly opened them and blew a kiss to the headstone as I imagined it as Quinn's smiling face.

_"I love you."_

**to be continued.**

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******I know you're wondering why this is Twilight with a normal story type. The main protagonist of this story is Bella, of course, with Alice as the second main character. Quinn from Glee is just, umm, supporting character? Haha. No idea. I really love her character so I decided to include her in this story. Anyway, I got this idea from my dream last night. Please tell me what you think. It's really important for me to know what you think. Should I continue with the story or not?**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

_"I love you."_

I could have sworn I heard Quinn's voice after I blew the tombstone a kiss. That was before I left the cemetery yesterday. Until now, the sweet-sounding voice and the nostalgic words were still echoing clearly in my ears.

I remembered the perfect days where she uttered those soothing words seductively against my lips. _"I love you."_

I couldn't get over it! That voice—her voice—was so soft, so mellow, and so convincingly real. I would never be wrong when it came to her. I had memorized every element of her body, every fiber of her hair, every breath she took. I knew all and everything about her. I was positively sure it was her voice—it was Quinn.

For a moment, I had thought she was there an inch beside me and not six feet underneath the porous soil. _But come on, Bella! Wake up! _That would be utterly preposterous and just absolutely impossible. I was there when she died and buried. There was no way she could have ever survived and lived after that terrifying incident, even Wonder woman couldn't handle that. Yet again, I always wished she did.

So was I only hallucinating? Was my mind playing some silly trick on me? Because I swore I wasn't dreaming. I was very much conscious and wide awake. There should be an explanation to this or else I would strangle myself, poke my eyes out, and feed it to the cows. I really didn't like to think I already had some freaky psychotic problems. I already had tons of issues going on and to think about and this shouldn't and couldn't be on my list. _No. Please, just not now. Not ever._

"Bella? You okay, honey?" Charlie, my father, asked in a worried tone. I glanced at him, slightly turning my head to catch him staring at me, studying me with concern.

"You should mind the road, dad. Just love the idea of getting arrested for hitting a deer in a cloudy daylight." I said, rolling my eyes dramatically. He smiled, but did not retort to my sarcastic banter. I flashed a small smile and stared out the window once again in silence.

When I arrived at the airport in Port Angeles half an hour ago, he was already waiting for me with his squad car. Charlie was the notable Police Chief in this humble city of Forks. He was the serious and intimidating police officer, who would never wear a smile on his face. Renee often said that smiling would kill him rather than a bullet in his head.

However, when he saw me at the airport, he was happily, broadly smiling while welcoming me with an open arm. And the most amazing of all was this funny look on his face. It was too obvious he was mentally debating if he should hug me or not. He did the former, which was very awkward for the both of us.

I smiled to myself thinking of how ridiculously uncomfortable my father was with me until now. I couldn't blame him. We were really never that close. He was as shocked and flustered as Renee when I decided out of the blue to move back here and live with him. They seemed to understand and gladly welcomed my decision afterwards.

As a matter of fact, Charlie had already gotten me enrolled for high school. He was not that good of a husband to Renee, but he was a good father to me, at least. Though he might not show it very often and act like an angry robot all the time, he was still a caring, thoughtful, humble, and well. . . a not so very boring dad. And that had never bothered me a bit. In all honesty, I preferred living with him. He respected and gave me my personal space unlike Renee who wouldn't stop bitching until I did everything what she said. She was like Quinn, an actual control freak queen. But Q was just too sweet and charming to be ignored.

After traveling more than fifty miles from Port Angeles with a few casual conversations with Charlie, we had finally made it to the end of civilization—I meant to Charlie's humble abode. Everything was beautiful and green—too beautifully green, in all respect. I didn't remember the place being so forested before, though. Maybe because I hadn't paid too much attention to my surroundings when I was younger or I simply didn't care. It was four years ago since I last visited the place. I remembered, it was before Quinn and I met and since then I forgot about the place and had started spending all of my days with her.

As we neared and slowed down on an open grass-covered land, which was probably his lawn, I noticed a red Chevy truck parking in front of the house. Charlie halted beside the hefty truck since apparently the house had no built-in garage. From the looks of the truck, I would say it was properly and skillfully kept up by its owner before likely died some ages ago. I imagined a burly, scary, old woman with thick glasses and a shotgun behind the steering wheel. I smiled at the ludicrous picture in my head. That image stimulated a sea of curiosity in me. Charlie didn't need to have another car. He adored this baby too much. Was there someone else living with him that we didn't know? A girlfriend perhaps?

"You like it?" Charlie asked after shutting the engine off. I ignored him and narrowed my eyes, staring hard at the suspicious-looking truck. _Hmm. . . I have a weird feeling about this._

Just as his question and realization hit me, I turned around to look at him. Not able to contain my excitement any longer, I squealed and blurted out. "Is that for me?" He nodded with a small smile. I wasn't really expecting this. Charlie buying me anything more than twenty-five dollars was simply unbelievable. A miracle! I expected he would give me an old, rusty bike instead.

I didn't like accepting anything from anyone, but I couldn't say no to this once in a lifetime blessing from Charlie. "Thanks, dad!"

Charlie smiled, undeniably uncomfortable of my unveiled enthusiasm. He scratched his head, averting my thrilled gaze in the process. "Well, I bought it really cheap and, and well, I—" Now I really got more curious. How cheap is cheap? Twenty-four dollars?

I didn't let him finish talking. I abruptly gave him a quick hug and smiled brightly at him after our brief embrace. I just got a new—well, not so new truck and had just saved my wonderful father from stuttering horribly in front of his beautiful daugh—Ouch! I bit my tongue, again! This had always happened whenever I was violently excited or talking too much nonsense. Ugh! Fucking tongue! Sorry Q, I hated my tongue right now. Quinn would kill me if I said that. Saying that to her face was a grave mortal sin. She sure loved my tongue very much. Hmm. . . that had always been a mystery to me. I really wondered why.

Anyways, Charlie's a modest man with a few words or maybe a man with no words at all. Speaking his thoughts aloud had always been his weakness. I greatly understood and empathized with him. I got most of my traits from him. _Most._

"Cool." I mumbled absentmindedly after gazing back at my new truck. I got off the squad car hurriedly and directly examined the truck interior myself. It was simple, but nice and very well-maintained. The old stereo was still functional, much to my surprise. It had a very nice Clazzio black and red seat cover and the steering wheel was just as awesome. I could live with this. I could picture myself in it.

"I hope you like it, Bells." Charlie said with a furrow on his brow. He looked so agitated. Of what? Of maybe I would not like this stupid idea of him buying me a cheap and ancient truck?

"Of course! I love it! I really appreciate it, dad. Thanks again." I honestly adored it and absolutely appreciated it like a lot. Finally, at long last, I had my own car—or truck. I wouldn't have to suffer a long walk to school or beg Charlie to drive me with an ear-blowing singing siren on top.

"I'm glad you love it." He smiled sheepishly. I heard a sigh after his last word. Dad—always the meek and shy one.

* * *

The house was still the same, as expected. It was not new and not that old, too. It was not bright, it was rather pale and. . . lonely—so lonely that it was like the people living here always got depressed and tired of their miserable lives. _Don't get me wrong. _I was not saying that the house was dirty, it's not. It's pretty clean and presentable, but it lacked something. It was not some fancy decors or furniture, not the paint, either. I just couldn't finger a word.

When I was wandering around the house, the very first thing that caught my eyes were the old family pictures in the living room. I smiled sadly, looking at the almost-forgotten pictures. There was a big picture frame of Charlie and Renee's wedding over the small fireplace, my baby pictures with them in different backgrounds, and a recent picture of me with Quinn in Ohio. I smiled wistfully at the cute pictures. Now I knew what was missing in this house.

It was us—me and Renee, Charlie's life.

It only took me a couple of minutes to get all my bags and my other belongings to my room. There were only two small bedrooms in this house; one small bathroom in the second floor, which was obviously not for my own personal use; a small kitchen with a small square table at the center; and a small living room with an antiquated television set and a small leather couch in front. Everything in this small two-storey house was small. Well, I couldn't complain, could I? It's not that we really needed a bigger house. This house was just perfect for the two of us.

After I unpacked and arranged the things in my room, I went down to see Charlie sitting on the couch with his boots on the coffee table. He was watching this goofy sports show on TV with a bottle of beer in between his thighs. I sat next to him, paying no attention to the show. "You hungry, dad? I can cook something for dinner." I peeked sideways only to catch his worried and distraught expression. "Anything wrong?" Just by looking at his scrunched face, I was sure there was. It was either there's no food in the fridge or there was nothing at all but beers.

And I was right. I groaned and sighed loudly after checking the kitchen. There was absolutely nothing and if there was, it was either poisonous—the beers—or the thing was really disgusting to even look at. I didn't even bother dare knowing what it was.

"I can do a quick call for a box of fresh pizza." Charlie called from across the living room. His trembling voice was not so convincing. Fresh pizza. Fresh—Pizza. It was just the same!

The idea of eating pizza for the rest of my days with him was just as bad as imagining eating your own shit. _UGH! This is really not ok! _I told myself a thousand times. I should do something before turning into a pizza-loving freak.

"Hey, can I have the key to my truck?" I asked. I purposely stood in front of him, totally blocking his view on the TV. I was aware of my rude manner and if he was pissed about it, he didn't give any indication. He blinked once, twice, and puckered his face in confusion, inadvertently pouting his lips altogether. When I didn't bother to explain my rudeness, he reluctantly reached his right side pocket of his jeans and grabbed a silver keychain with two keys hooked to it. He softly tossed it to me yet I still barely caught it one-handed. He was still locking my gaze, puzzled by my action. "Thanks, dad. I'll be back in a flash." I went out the house hurriedly. I got in my cozy truck and started the engine. To my wild surprise, it roared to life. Wow. It had a good sound, so much better than what I intensely hoped and prayed. Not bad for a twenty-four dollar, ancient truck.

"Where you going? Want me to go with you?" Charlie asked as I shifted the gear to reverse.

"No. Relax, dad. I won't go back to Ohio." I chuckled at his awkward stance. He was leaning against the door frame, crossing his arms and legs with a funny pout on his face. His shoulders fell when I drove the truck to the wrong lane. "Really. I got this!" I said aloud, making him stop walking to my direction. I heaved all the air I could get, calming my nerves down. _Ok, I can do this_. I encouraged myself one more time. It's my very first to actually drive without an adult in the passenger seat so I was somewhat uneasy. Fine. I was pretty nervous, but not as nervous as the idea of eating pizza all my life and those gruesome things only the gods and Charlie knew.

"Bella, honey, would you tell me where you're going?" Charlie further queried, stepping a bit closer to the truck.

"Just want to buy things that are not nauseatingly disgusting to look at, which I'm proud to call it as food." I impulsively scrunched my face at the sickening feeling in my stomach. "Sorry, dad. Don't want to eat just pizza for the rest of my stay here."

* * *

Charlie begrudgingly allowed me to go alone after I told him I would need some time for myself. I promised him I would be home before nightfall with the groceries. I wanted to see and know the place by myself. They said the best way to learn was to experience it. And I wanted to experience it alone.

I had no idea it would take a long drive before I could reach the main road. I had just discovered that Charlie's place was really far from the modern society. That explained everything. No need to elaborate.

After ten minutes of heavy, slow driving, I eventually reached the center city—or should I say the ACE city. I did not notice this earlier when Charlie drove me home. Was I really in Forks or in the ACE planet? Almost all the establishments here were named ACE:

ACE Hotel, ACE Supermall, ACE Hypermart, ACE Enterprise, ACE Bookstore, ACE Café, ACE Diner, ACE D'Bar—_whatever that means_, ACE Daily News, ACE Fishing, ACE Bank, ACE Transit, ACE Properties, and even the vending machines were all ACE's—Drink-And-Eat-All-You-Can ACE machines. _What the hell! _Forks was being invaded now? Whoever and whatever this ACE was, he was some almighty, big, selfish, money-sucking fiend. This was just too much!

I was initially planning to go where there were no humongous signboards that had the word ACE on it. But much to my horrid dismay, I only found one inadequate kiosk at the very far end of the city, almost going back to Port Angeles. _Really!? You gotta be kidding me! _This ACE sucked big time!

I bitterly drove back and parked on the huge parking space in front of the ACE Hypermart. I went inside the store and reminded me of Walmart back home in Lima. I easily found whatever was on my mental list since I was so clever enough to use my eyes and brain to read and think. I didn't have to open my mouth and waste my time to ask for directions. I trudged over to the meat section and grabbed a frozen. . .

"ACE meat!?" I shouted at the top of my lungs, distressingly and thoroughly stunned. I quickly covered my mouth with my hands, dipping my head to hide my flushed, embarrassed face. I felt every snoopy orb was on me, maybe thinking I already lost my mind and was such a waste for having a charming, pretty face. _Yeah, I know. Sorry about that!_

I sighed wearily the umpteenth times today. I literally dragged myself around the store with heavy, hooded eyes. I already got everything I needed so far. Most of the goods I picked were not related to ACE; I was kind of glad and relieved that there was still something to choose aside from those ACE merchandises.

I glanced at my watch and was a bit shocked of the time. It was already thirty past six. I was in this outrageous ACE city for almost four hours. I was sure Charlie was worried sick of me being alone in this weird place. I inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly through my mouth before moving my heavy feet to the counter.

This surely was a long and tiring day. I needed to go home and rest. I hoped I could sleep well tonight. I still had to wake up early in the morning to cook breakfast for Charlie and get ready for my very first day of school as a Senior. Wow. Just couldn't wait to see the new faces of over three hundred students in Forks High. How deadly exciting! The creepy goose pimples on my body were celebrating with me right now. _Great._

* * *

Charlie called over the phone, asking where I was and if I was okay—just the usual worried parent asking obvious questions. There was a long pause from the other line after I answered all his questions. I pulled my phone to check if our connection was cut, but the screen said he was still there. I put back the phone on my ear just in time to hear him sighed. Rolling my eyes, I patiently waited for him to speak his mind. _This will take a while._

After a minute, he finally broke off the awkward silence, saying that he was badly needed in the precinct. There was some kind of emergency I didn't quite catch up since he was badly mumbling under his breath. I pretended to listen and didn't ask any question and told him it was fine and he could leave the house. _Work is work, nevertheless._

I was in my truck when I felt my stomach grumbled for the lack of food. I surely forgot how hungry I was. I just had remembered I still had to eat. I did not eat anything after breakfast, five this morning.

It was getting dark and I didn't think Charlie left me anything edible for dinner. I started the engine and opted to eat somewhere, maybe at the local café down the street. I had no other choice. It was either to eat there or forget it and sleep with an empty stomach. My body was rebelliously reacting to the idea of cooking dinner for myself. I was really exhausted from the long travels and the stress I got from this fucking ACE city.

I drove past different ACE establishments before appearing in front of the classy ACE Café. I parked my truck on the vacant stop next to a _not-so-strikingly-sensational silver Aston Martin One-77! _I was rigorously screaming in my head._ No. Way. _There was no way someone could afford that ridiculously expensive car and would eat here.

I got off the truck slowly, not removing my intense gaze at the absolutely breath-taking, sheeny jewel in front of me. _Wow. Just wow._

"Miss! Hey miss!" A deep, croaky voice snapped me out of my wild fantasy. I automatically jerked my body at the ugly voice. He was standing in an arrogant pose with an accusing look on his uglier face. He folded his hairy arms and looked daggers at me. _What the!_

_What's your problem, you ugly twit!? _"Yes? Is there a problem?" Wow. I sounded so nice. I even wanted to gag at my own kindness. This man deserved to be brutally treated. But I was born polite and well-mannered. _Tsk._

"Move your damn truck further away from that crazy mother-fucker." He pointed a finger to my awesome Chevy truck then to the Aston Martin. It took me a while to grasp what he said. _No way! No. No. No. Don't tell me HE—the ugliest son-of-a-bitch—was the owner of that precious thing!? _I almost screamed in horror._ No. Fucking. Way._

"Hey! Did you hear me, missy?" His voice deepened in a frightful tone of warning. He stepped forward, but I got in the truck before he could do something to me or whatever. I started the engine, glanced at the rear-view mirror, and was about to move the gear until a sweet, songful voice froze my entire body to a dead halt.

**LUB-DUB.**

"Um. . . You don't have to do that. I'm about to leave, anyway."

**LUB-DUB.** In a slow motion, I impulsively turned my head with an exaggerated dramatic effect toward the coolest voice I had ever heard. I was way better than the one I'd seen in the movies.

**LUB-DUB. **Her voice was just so unique and perfect. Not even today's latest modern technology could create such perfect voice.

**LUB-DUB. **My heart was beating so loud. It pounded so strong inside my chest, a very rare feeling I only experienced with Quinn.

**LUB-DUB. **I felt my cheeks burning, my body sweating. The crazy, nervous feeling in my stomach made me shiver and squirm on my seat.

**LUB-DUB. **And finally, I met her gaze behind those extremely dark sunglasses. She stood a few feet away from me, comfortably leaning her back against the driver side of the Aston Martin. She was wearing an excessively huge dark grey sweatshirt with the hood almost covering her entire face. Although I couldn't clearly see her features, I could actually tell she was beautiful. Very beautiful.

**LUB-DUB. **"Nice truck." She smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. I felt the sincerity in her voice, not a single hint of mockery or sarcasm.

**LUB-DUB. **For the first time since Quinn's death, I felt so alive. I could feel my blood boiled in a familiar frenzied state of nervousness and excitement. We stared fixedly at each other. No one dared to move an inch. I even forgot to breathe for a second. There was like a wave of electricity rushed through me. But sadly, the sudden, strong wind broke off the intensity of our stares. The unpleasant air current remained in the truck, piercing through every pore of my skin. I felt so cold and fidgety and shaking and did I mention I was really, really, really cold? _What's wrong with me? _I looked at the mysterious girl once again, feeling a nauseous sensation in my gut. She had a small curious twitch on her sexy pink lips. _Who the hell is she?_

**to be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

"I miss you." She whispered seductively against my lips. I was sitting on the bed, facing my bedroom window. She was stradling on my lap, cupping my cheeks with her brow resting on mine. She gave me a light peck on the nose before flashing a sweet smile.

I looked at her, gingerly feeling every inch of her smooth, ivory skin. I brushed her eyes slowly with my fingertips, tracing to her nose then lingered on her soft lips. I playfully licked her bottom lip, traveling down to her chin and ended to her neck. I smirked at how sexy her giggles were. I was glad it didn't changed after a very long time of not hearing it.

Oh how I missed her erotic voice, the comforting warmth of her breath, her sweet smiles and her soft, loving touches that never failed to send thrills down my chest. I simply missed everything and everything about her.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed my face in between her breasts, feeling the gentle beat of her heart. My heart ached at how much I missed her. I cried hard against her chest. I let everything flow with each tear passed by my cheeks and vowed that this would be the last tears.

I was already tired of crying and trying to act strong. I just wanted to smile and be happy again, to relish every second of my time with her. I badly longed to touch her, smell her, taste her, feel her, and to love her even more—if that would even be possible.

_Oh good God, is that too much to ask? _I just wanted this moment to last. I wouldn't want this to end just yet. I would do everything to see her and be with her again. _Please. Please. Oh God, please. . ._

She lifted my face and smiled slyly at me like she knew my thoughts. "You really do want me that badly, huh?" She gently kissed my brow and went down to my lips. "Soon, baby." She whispered after breaking off the kiss.

I smiled longingly, admiring her radiant green orbs. She locked my gaze, mirroring my doleful expression. "How soon is your soon?" I asked in a soft, cracking voice. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. "Don't you get it, Q? I want you now." I said, almost screaming in desperation and anger. I hoped she wouldn't mind me being too harsh and demanding. She was not used to it. I had always been the submissive one. She couldn't blame me after leaving me for a year. She left me behind, miserably lost and broken.

"Hey." She smiled sadly, drying my tears away. "I know." She paused and averted my gaze. "But it'll be up to you this time, Bella." She looked at me again with a serious expression—the same expression she showed if she was overly jealous of someone. I honestly didn't get it. Why showing me that kind of face? I was not talking about someone else. I was obviously begging _her_ to come back to me.

_And 'Up to me this time'? What does that even mean? _I was about to ask her what exactly those words meant, but she put a finger on my lips before I could open my mouth. How did she know I was about to question her? Could she really possibly read my mind?

She laughed and rolled her eyes. _Oh God! _I always loved to hear that laugh again—so carefree and yet so sexy. She shook her head lightly and sighed. "I can't tell you right now, B." She cocked her head to glance at the door, grinning knowingly. "He'll be here now." She looked back at me, poked my nose, and winked. "Don't be pissed at him, 'kay? Charlie's a good man. Be good." She smiled and kissed me passionately on the lips before whispering on my ear. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

"Bella?"

I squirmed under the comforter of my bed, groaning in irritation at hearing the door creaked open and Charlie's voice—_wait! What!?_ I immediately got up after realizing what I had just thought. I had just dreamed of Quinn telling me about Charlie being here in my room. Well, she didn't really say he was in my room, but my dream was about Quinn and I talking in my room—this very room. We did things and talked about weird stuffs before she told me that Charlie was already here.

_Okay! This is really freaking weird! _I screamed in my head, shaking my head roughly. I turned my head to the door to catch Charlie looking at me quizzically. His face practically yelled _'Please help. I have a crazy daughter in my house.' Oh, dad._

"Bells? You okay, honey?" He said, furrowing his brow. He put his hands on his side pockets and took slow, even steps toward me. He was already wearing his police uniform without the gun and the badge on it. The ridiculous look on his face and the way he approached me really pissed me off. _What the heck!? _Did he really think I already lost my mind? I was just acting weird thanks to my not-so-creepy, beautiful dream. It's still beautiful no matter how creepy it was. It's not everyday I dreamed of Quinn kissing me.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, dad." I said, putting up a fair smile to make my answer more convincing.

"Okay." He drawled a tad slower while narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He eyed me for a moment then sighed. "Bells, if—"

"I'm fine, dad. I promise." I stopped him, placing my hand on his stiff shoulder. "It's just a crazy dream about Quinn." I admitted softly. "It's nothing, really."

He nodded, but he still looked worried and doubtful of my confession. "You need anything? You. . . err. . . want me to go with you—"

"No!" _Ugh! Oh shit. _I didn't intend to shout at him, not that loud. It was purely on impulse. "I—I mean. . . "

"No. Yeah. It's okay. I understand, Bells. Well, err. . . sort of anyway." Charlie said, scratching his head. _Crap. This is just so awkward. _He turned his heels, but glanced back at me before leaving my room. "I better get going. You know. . . work. So, err. . . You. . . school today, okay?" _Great! _Now my own dad thought I was an idiot. _I'm only weird, Charlie. Not an idiot._

"Umm. . . Yeah. Sure." _Whatever_. He nodded once and patted the door as he went out the room. I sighed loudly and sat on the edge of the bed, propping my elbows on my knees. "This is gonna be a long day, huh?" I mumbled under my breath. "Quinn?"

* * *

I didn't sleep well, not after three AM. I had lain wretchedly on my bed for hours, struggling to get some decent sleep. But my stubborn head seemed to have its own source of vitality to dare rebel against me. It didn't stop mooning and picturing the mysterious girl with a thuggish getup at the cafe. My head had just engraved her perfect smile in the deepest recesses of my brain. Until now, I still felt the nervous feeling in my stomach and the crazy fluctuation in my chest. I knew what you're thinking and that's just absolutely ridiculous! There's just no way I would like her or whatsoever. I didn't even see her face or got to know her name. She was gone the second after I parked my truck away from her car. I totally loved her precious silver One-77 baby, though.

There was only one thing I was certain about her—she was one filthy rich girl.

In truth, I was just highly curious of who she was and why my body was bizarrely reacting at the mere second of hearing her voice. Yeah, I got that she had an inhumanly melodic voice, but why—_Urg! _I had too many questions, but it was all too weird to make any sense! I just didn't understand a thing! I wondered what's really going on with me. I felt weird—really, really weird. Deep inside me wished I wouldn't see her again. I didn't like this feeling a bit. What she had done to me—intended or not—was out of the question. And just unforgivable in Quinn's book. If Quinn would find out about this, I would be dead. . . in a very painful, miserable death.

Speaking of Quinn, the dream, and that girl from last night were altogether weird—weirdly weird—as if there was a more perfect word to describe this weirdness.

Looking at the time, I darted out of my room to the bathroom, which was conveniently located in between mine and Charlie's room. I let out a sigh of relief after closing the bathroom door. I instantly removed my ring and the necklace Quinn gave me days before her death and securely placed it on the shelf under the medicine cabinet. I caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror after discarding my clothes on the floor. As much as possible, I avoided looking at myself in any reflection. Since Quinn's death, I lost interest of taking care of my body. Looking at my face, somehow reminded me of Quinn and our happy times together. She truly loved this face, most particularly this barren eyes and lifeless lips.

I once had a nice, firm structure fitting to my five foot six. My excessively red lips and dark brown eyes were my most prominent features thanks to my pale face. Though I absolutely adored the sun, I was never tan. I always had a porcelain skin, which I learned to love overtime.

I went down after making sure I was fit to be seen as normal and tolerable to everyone's standards. I didn't want to be noted as the freakish new student on my first day. I was quite sure people from this small city already knew I existed. I didn't want to leave a bad impression of myself. I was the girlfriend of the most beautiful and popular girl in Lima, after all. I couldn't afford to ruin that noble reputation. But being the new kid, I decided to stay low and quite for the rest of the school year. _Yeah, that's the plan._

* * *

Driving to Forks High was as easy as straightening your excessively frizzled hair. It took me nearly half an hour to finally arrive at the school—or that's what they called it. It actually didn't look like an institution for learning. It was more like a shelter for the elderly in the middle of a woodland. There were so many trees—just like the rest of Forks, it's green everywhere. Yeah, I was exaggerating. It's green and green everywhere!

Students were starting to arrive as I drove around the campus to look for a good spot to park. I smirked cheerfully to see that most of the cars were as old as mine. But definitely not as awesome. My truck was way cooler than their junkers.

I cut the engine once I found a fine spot next to a huge red sign _'Reserved Parking'. _It covered two parking spaces so I parked on the third space. I sighed loudly and closed my eyes, relaxing my nerves. After a moment, I fished the school map and my schedule in my bag pocket and looked over it. I was trying to memorize everything so I wouldn't have to carry and look at it the whole day. _This is it. My first day to hell. _I breathed deeply and got off the truck before I changed my mind and decided to ditch school and go back to Ohio.

Inside, it was unbelievably not that bad. I had imagined the worst. Forks High was not as big as McKinley, but this place felt like home—it's cozy and brightly lit. I was right when I first thought of this as an institution for the aged.

I pored over the map and the schedule one last time before trudging through the crowd of teenagers in the hallway. Finding my first class wasn't difficult. I managed to get in the classroom just in time the bell rang for the first period to start.

I scanned the small room and gladly found an empty seat at the back beside the window. But before I could put my books on the table, a large pale hand hit the table so hard that I thought the table would break into half. "Sorry, babe. Seat's already taken." I turned my head, extremely infuriated at his barbaric way of saying hi. He had a silly smirk on his unattractive face. He was about 5'10 tall with an average built with a long, blonde hair that tied behind his neck like a ponytail. There was nothing remarkable about his face, except for his unusually dark eyes, which highly resembled evil in horror movies. Was he wearing contact lenses? Because I swore it really looked good on him. He was definitely the perfect example of pure wickedness on this planet.

"Mr. James Witherdale?" A deep, authoritarian voice snapped my sole focus on the evil-guy in front of me. He turned around, not leaving the menacing smirk on his lips. I followed his gaze and pleased to see a tall, black-haired, middle-aged man behind the teacher's desk. He looked at me for a while then to James. I presumed that was his name—a very fine name to a very sinister guy. Names could really be deceiving. "Why don't you seat in front where I could fully see you?" _Yeah, where he can also easily kick your ugly butt of a face._

He tugged a cocky lopsided smile, peering sideways at me. "Yeah sure, Mr. Denali." He slung the strap of his leather bag over his shoulder and strode to the front chair, an arm-reached away from the teacher's table.

Mr. Eleazar Denali—our Stat teacher—was the coolest teacher I had ever met. Math was my least favorite subject, but the way he introduced numbers and formulas was breathtaking. I found myself loving the idea of being a mathematician someday as I listened to him discussing. This teacher must be a god of numbers and miracles. Simply fabulous!

But sadly and annoyingly, the captivating discussion was cut short a few minutes before the time. Mr. Denali was called by our lady principal, whose name I forgot. What was her name again—Clearwater?

"Hi." A high pitched voice, which sounded like an eleven year-old boy, disrupted my thought process. I sighed inwardly and glanced at him, forcing a smile. Fortunately for him, I was in the mood for some unwanted company. "Your Isabella, right? It's nice to finally meet the new kid in Forks." I rolled my eyes at his lame antic. He was obviously the type of guy who didn't have any normal friends while growing up. He appeared to be the one who grabbed every opportunity he could get to have the new girl in town to like him.

I looked at him nonchalantly. I raised an eyebrow, suggesting that he should probably stop whatever he was planning and leave me alone. "Yikes!" He laughed lightheartedly. "How could I forget! I'm Mike." _Great. _He might looked like an overly intelligent kid, but he was certainly dumb in reading women. I absolutely pitied him.

"I prefer you call me Bella." I said, faking a smile. His smile broadened as he reached for my hand on the desk. _Oh no. _I wouldn't do that if I were you. I winced, readying myself to slap him on the face. Thankfully, the bell rang, which made him jumped inches away from me. _Thank goodness! _I didn't like having detention on my first day of school. Charlie wouldn't like that. I also didn't like him being the reason of my first detention. I stood up, stuffed my things in the bag, and went out the room hastily. I hoped my next teacher would be as great as Mr. Denali.

_And alas! _Our world history teacher, Mr. Marcus, was the most boring being in the whole galaxy—much worst than what you could possibly imagine! History, in general, was by far my most favorite subject of all times. And I couldn't and wouldn't accept having him as my history teacher. He should be cool and great like Mr. Denali. He was teaching me to loathe history as he spoke. _Ugh! _I wanted to approach and tell him to change his teaching methods or whatever necessary and possible, but he was so tall and so intimidating that his expressionless face alone would scare you to death. I knew I was already doomed in this subject.

The second period ended and it was finally time for lunch. After two classes, I started to recognize a few faces. Some were bold and gutsy enough to talk and introduce themselves and some were conceited and arrogant that looking at me would somehow burn their eyes.

Angela—the girl who seated beside me in the second period—walked with me to the cafeteria in silence. We had exchanged a few words about the subject—my frustrations and disappointments— after the end of class. _Fine. _I did most of the talking since she was just gawking at me like everybody else. But unlike everybody else, I talked and walked with her because I felt I could trust her. She seemed so nice and honest. She was shy but kind—a best friend-forever material you would definitely keep.

As we entered the cafeteria, a petite girl with a wavy dark brown hair and blue eyes was smiling and waving enthusiastically at us from across the room. I debated if I should smile and wave or just ignore her. I chose the latter. I decided to let Angela do the job since maybe the girl was her friend. I was not really good in making friends or other friendship stuffs.

I reluctantly followed Angela to the group of seven people, whom she introduced to me other than the fanatic, blue-eyed girl. I recognized the blond-guy, Mike, who was smiling heartily at me.

The girl, whose name I forgot even after introducing herself the third time, babbled a hundred miles per second. I watched her with dread. I could already see bubbles inside her throat. This bitch was annoying as hell! I wanted to strangle and tear her throat. _Damn! _That girl's a genuine evil. She naturally revived the murderer in me. I peered over to the rest of the group. And by the looks on their faces, I was glad I was not the only one. That girl had a powerful gift—a very rare, dangerous gift of fortifying people's killer instincts.

I stood up and excused myself, walking away hurriedly with my tray of half eaten foods. I couldn't stand another second of hearing her nonsense chatters. I wished I wouldn't see her in my other two remaining classes. I would gonna die if she would be there. That annoying bitch would be the death of me.

I was about to go out the cafeteria smoothly until someone—who was not so damn nice—bumped my side somewhat intentionally. The hallway was just too huge and wide for the both of us to hit each other, unless he was blind or he was doing it on purpose. I closed my eyes for a second, taming my burning rage. I opened my eyes and turned around just to admire the most alarmingly beautiful, immaculate face I had ever seen. She had an inhumanly divine features, which greatly reminded me of the Greek gods and goddess in ancient paintings I saw in my history book earlier. She had a short, stylish, and spiky, jet-black hair. She smiled at me and before I knew it, my heart skipped a beat. I started to feel the familiar nervous tingles in my chest. I was slightly shaking as I felt my hands began to sweat. _Oh God. Why is this happening to me? _I unconsciously stared hard at her pink lips, which was, by the way, was so familiar. It was like I had already seen it before. I just couldn't figure when and where.

"Alice." A very enchanting voice captured my attention. On the spur of the moment, I became aware of my embarrassing plight. I instinctively released the breath I was holding and glanced sideways to see a tall, well-built, and extremely charming guy. He was so stunningly handsome that it would put the perfect Disney princes to shame. He had a disheveled, unusually bronze hair. And just like the girl, he had an unblemished, silky ivory skin. At first, I thought he was an angel, but the way he looked at me made me think otherwise. He stared intensely at me, narrowing his deep green eyes. I stared back at him, bewildered by his hostility. _What's his problem?_

"Edward." That gentle, flawless voice. I swiveled my head abruptly to the girl whose name I now knew. I could picture my stunned face gawking at her incredulously—eyes widened, mouth foolishly agape. It was the same perfect voice that engraved in my head. My gaze traveled all over her face. She had a lovely unfathomable golden brown eyes with long, thick eyelashes and her lips—which were twisted in a small smile—were still the same as I fully remembered. It was all perfect. Everything about her was simply aesthetic.

I couldn't believe I was smiling. I was happy that it was her—the mysterious girl at the cafe.

Just as the recognition dawned on me, my heart was beating stronger and louder that I suddenly felt so giddy and weak. Just like last night, we gazed fixedly at each other's eyes. No one dared to blink. I honestly didn't know what was in my mind at this very moment or yesterday when I stared at her. I felt so drawn to her, but I just didn't know why or how. Yes, I was clearly attracted to her unthinkable beauty, but there was something more to it than that. This feeling—was something new to me. It was definitely not just physical attraction.

"Bella!" The irritating voice and a light pat on my shoulder jerked me out of her spell. I blinked once and instantly dipped my head at the feeling of my flushed face. "Oh. My. Gosh! What the hell was that!?" I groaned inwardly in utmost annoyance as I bit my lip hard._ It's obviously none of your fucking business, bitch!_

I glanced back at Alice and the not-so-friendly neighborhood guy—Edward. But they weren't there. I sighed loudly and decided to head to the third class—English. I hoped this would be good.

* * *

"I am so happy we have the same class, Bella!"

_Yeah, I would be overjoyed to kill you right this instant! _"Err. . . me too." I said, sarcastically. Was there any more worst than having Jessica in the same room? Damn, fate really loved me! I finally remembered her name. How could I not? The annoying bitch talked like _"Jessica likes this. . ." "Jessica hates that. . ." _I somehow found the strength to awaken the goodness in my soul and blurted out _"Who the hell is Jessica!?" _And the bitch just stared at me like I was the dumbest idiot on the planet for not knowing her name after mentioning it a zillion times!_ Sorry, bitch._

I rolled my eyes when I heard her squealed. Could anyone please kill her now? "Bella! Edward's here!"

I snapped my head right away to the door at hearing his name. He was there, standing so tall and overbearing. He scanned the room and finally landed his gaze on me. He stiffened and narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to break what's inside my head. He was certainly gorgeous, but more certainly—terrifyingly weird.

He slowly stepped forward to my direction, not removing his icy glare. I felt Jessica squirmed beside me, but I paid no attention to her obvious excitement as my mind was being held captive by Edward's threatening gaze.

"Would you be kind enough to offer me your seat," He said coolly, slotting his eyes even more. I heard Jessica mumbled, telling me to go find another empty chair. _Wow. What an ass. _I glowered at him, silently telling him I immensely disliked him that much. He smiled amusedly and bit his lower lip. "Would you, Jessica?" He glanced at the bitch beside me with a seductive smirk. I caught a glimpse of Jessica nodding her head stupidly, swooning at Edward with intense devotion. And just like that, Jessica left us to seat beside a boy with an extremely fuzzy hair and very thick eyeglasses, bigger than his flabby face. He smiled at Jessica, flashing his rainbow-colored braces. _Oh, good luck, Jessica. And good luck to me, too. _Edward sitting beside me was much worst than having Jessica in the same room. Fate truly adored me right now.

Our teacher, Mr. Garrett Heitz Beatles—_I know right. It's one strange name_—went to class ten minutes before the end of class. He had a long, light brown hair that reached to his neck. He was as tall as Edward and had a dark stubble. He had a pleasing and outgoing personality contrary to his rough appearance. I liked him. He's funny and seemed approachable. He explained why he was late and made us laugh the entire time—including Edward—until the bell rang.

I didn't wait for Edward to leave or take a breath. I hurriedly grabbed my bag and walked out the room, completely ignoring his presence. This would be the last period and I solemnly asked Fate to be kinder to me on the next class. I didn't want another Edward or Jessica and most especially not evil James in my last period. _Please, Fate. Be good to me for once._

I was in the hallway when I realized I forgot where my next class would be. I fumbled in my bag for my Physics book as I remembered placing my schedule inside during lunch. I clenched my teeth and shook my head in disbelief. I just couldn't believe I left my book on the table, right beside Edward in English class. I let out a loud, weary breath and lumbered back to Mr. Beatles' room. I should better find my book on the same spot or I would sue Fate for abusing his power in maltreating me.

I went inside the room and was devastated of the sight. No book. No Edward. No people. Empty room. It was deserted.

The bell had rang and I still hadn't located my book. I had no choice but to ask for another schedule from the registrar's office at building one. After obtaining a new schedule and an excuse note for my tardiness, I scurried my way to building three room C for my last class. I was panting heavily as I cautiously opened the door. And much to my surprise and relief, our teacher was a woman in her early twenties. Looking at her tender profile, she appeared to be a fresh grad from college. She was seductively pretty having a figure of a model—she really didn't look like a teacher to me. She had a long, wavy, fiercely red hair. I was glad Fate had finally heard my petitions this time.

Her beautiful green eyes locked on me with open curiosity. I smiled nervously as I approached her, handing her the registrar's note. She read the note briefly before looking back at me, raising an eyebrow. "Glad you could join us, Ms. Swan." She said indifferently that I stood stiff on my heels. _Oh shit. _I had one unnerving Physics teacher—beautiful, hot, and scary Physics teacher. This must be my lucky year._ Oh wow. _"Sit beside Ms. Cullen." I heard loud gasps all over the room. _What is it this time!? _I practically yelled in my head, Scrunching my face, I impulsively browsed the shocked faces of my classmates. _Oh this is really bad. _I didn't like to imagine another Mr. Marcus-looking girl or a girl having Jessica's big mouth or a girl with Evil-James-personality-disorder. I just hoped it would be someone like. . .

"Here." I almost jumped and screamed at the instant of hearing the soft, melodic voice. Immediately, my dilated eyes spotted the glowing hazel orbs. She stood gracefully and offered me the vacant seat to her left. She smiled at me with a curious slits in her eyes.

As I neared the table hesitantly, my heart pounded as if I was being hunted by a hungry lion. I swallowed my anxiety and shook the crazy feeling in my gut. I felt so lightheaded as collected myself, heaving with great effort. I avoided her gaze as I sat uncomfortably next to her.

"Relax. Don't worry, I won't bite." I could hear the smirk in her voice. I smiled, shaking my head lightly. _I am a stupid, absurdly brainless, utterly irrational, weird, ridiculous jerk! _How could I act so weird and so stupid when she obviously did nothing but being friendly to me? She was evidently nice and kind enough to offer her extra seat. She was not hostile and spiteful unlike that outrageously attractive, cocky guy, Edward. _Wait._ Were they a couple? They seemed so close. And Edward acted like an overly protective boyfriend—the very guy counterpart of Quinn—to Alice. I peeked at her and couldn't stop myself admiring her perfect features. She was so incredibly beautiful. It was just so hard to ignore someone as impeccable as her.

"You know, I can't concentrate with you leering at me like that." She smiled with an annoyingly attractive smug on her face. She was facing straight to the board, but I could tell she was looking at me in her peripheral. "I'm Alice, by the way." She whispered, leaning closer to me. "From what I heard, you must be Isabella." The way she uttered my name was so sweet to my ears. I even forgot I loathed hearing that name.

"Yeah." I wasn't so sure what to say so I uttered the first thing that came into my mind. "Um. . . so you're Alice Cullen?" _Wow. How smooth. _I had just realized that I was totally a moron. How did I get straight A's anyway?

She smiled amusedly, glancing at me. "Yes." She faced the board again after our lovely teacher had written something on the whiteboard.

The time seemed so slow as I waited for the bell to ring. Half of me wanted the class to end as soon as humanly possible and the other half wanted to linger for a while longer. As I waited for the time, I found myself stealing quick glimpses of her. And every time I glanced, I noticed a small curve on her lips as if she was fighting back a smile.

"You better read chapters one to three if you don't want to fail miserably in my test tomorrow." Just as after the red-head teacher said that, the bell rang and everybody started going out the room, grumbling.

"Shit." I hissed under my breath. "Great. I'm already in the list." I grouched hopelessly.

"Is there a problem, Isabella?" I looked up at her right away, still not immune of what her voice could do to me. She was already on her feet with her books. She faced me, arching her perfect brows. The way she carried herself—her swift, polished movements—made me think that gravity didn't exist in her world.

I flashed a smile, softly shaking my head. "Nothing. I. . . err. . . I just lost my Physics book. That's all." I wanted to slap my face for stammering disastrously. I already felt my face flushed. I was sure I was as red as the color red. _Duh._

She grinned, obviously enjoying herself at the sight. "You can borrow mine." She said or more like singing. "It's fine. I already read some of the chapters." She added meekly. She locked my gaze for a moment then bit her lip. "Here." She handed me her Physics book and smiled sheepishly. "You can have it until you'll find your book."

I was just standing in front of her, stunned and speechless. I glanced at the book shortly then back at her. I was thoroughly astounded that I temporarily lost the ability to express myself and utter an intelligible response. She smiled knowingly, grabbed my hand and gave me her book. "There. You already have a book." She regarded me with a faint smile under her long lashes when I realized she was holding my hand for quite a while now. I cleared my throat audibly. Her smile quickly faded as I slowly pulled my hand from her loose grip. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

"No. . ." I said softly. I tightened my hold on her book, smiling convincingly. "I honestly don't know what to say. I mean. . ." I stepped closer to her—not close enough to intrude her personal space—and gave back her book. "You also have a test tomorrow. I don't want you to fail because of me." I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not worth it."

She rolled her eyes playfully with a teasing smile. "Really. You can have it, Isabella." She uttered that name thrice, but I frighteningly found it soothing. I was supposed to correct her the first time she uttered it, warn her the second she mentioned it again and the third, well, I wouldn't think she would still be alive at that time. But here I was, still allowing her to say that name three times to my face. "You okay, Isabella?" Correction, fourth.

"Yeah. Um. . . just call me Bella." _Finally! _I found the decency to correct the wrong.

"But I like calling you Isabella." She said simply. "It's cute."

_What!? There's no way it's cute! _"Err. . . whatever you like." _Fuck me now!_

"So. . . " She slowly pushed the book on the table toward me with a smirk and an eyebrow raised seductively. "Can I call you mine, then?"_  
_

I closed and opened my mouth more than twice. I gulped audibly and gawked at her like she was fucking crazy. She giggled elatedly as if what she did was the best and funniest thing that happened in her life. Her laugh was so soft and sweet-sounding that I didn't find it rude or insulting. "I'm sorry, Bella." She said, shaking her head. "You're so funny. I haven't laughed like this in a long time. You deserve the book." She stopped laughing and glanced at her watch. "It's yours. You can keep it." She insisted stubbornly. "Make it my way of apologizing for bumping you earlier." If I hadn't paid too much attention to her, I couldn't catch her sly smile that she quickly hid in a split second. _What was that all about?_

Before I could react and complain, she walked to the door and glanced at me before going out the room. "Don't worry about me. I have a photographic memory." She winked and smiled, effectively striking every living and non-living organism in my body. _Oh my God. What had just happened?_

* * *

I yawned loudly, stretching my back muscles, my arms, and legs. I felt awfully exhausted. My eyes were as heavy as the burdens of the world. I badly needed to sleep after three days of sleep deprivation. I plopped on my bed and stirred myself to a comfortable position. I closed my eyes, smiling to myself at my long, weird, nice, terrifying day.

I had just finished reading the the first three chapters in Physics and did a review afterward. Before that, I had a good chat with Charlie about school and stuffs. Okay, in my point of view, we ate dinner with a short normal conversation between a father and a daughter at the table like:

"How's school?"

"Great."

"Good."

". . . ."

And that's how our nice chat ended. Just the usual. Nothing special.

What was out of the ordinary was I always found myself smiling—really smiling even when I was driving my super-power truck in the heavy rain, cooking dinner that was almost burned, and finding out that Charlie couldn't cook besides the obvious: eggs and bacon. I still felt like laughing and thrilled that tomorrow would come and I would be able to see Alice again. _Yes. Alice. _She sure was stubborn as hell and beautiful as the heavens.

I opened my eyes and inhaled deeply. I found myself smiling again. I was staring out the window for I didn't know how long as my mind drifted back to Alice's soft, perfect, melodious voice to her sweet smile and giggles, and the way she looked at me was heart-stopping.

I scrunched my brow, caressing my temples. Thinking about Alice always gave me a headache. Not a painful headache, just an annoying one. I turned to the other side of the bed, facing the door. I noticed a slim silhouette underneath it. I stared hard at the dark outline until I was jerked by a soft knock on the door and a sudden eerie cool gust coming from nowhere that roughly brushed my face. It reminded me of the same creepy, cold feeling from last night. I slowly got off the bed when I heard another louder knock. It must be Charlie, checking if I was already asleep or what. I grabbed the knob and opened the door sluggishly, making a spooky creaked sound.

"Hey." _Oh._ "Can't sleep?" _My._ "Isabella?" _God._

_Am I dreaming!?_

**to be continued.**

* * *

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far. Hope you don't mind me using the other characters. I was lazy thinking of another names. Hope you had fun reading it. Hey, excuse me for the grammatical errors, spellings, and such. I really don't like reading long chapters so I didn't check once I was done. Please review or tell me what you think. Till next time, guys! Have to sleep. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

_Am I dreaming!?_

"Would you rather be?"

At once, all the hairs of my considerably cold body erected. My mouth fell wide open at the inexpressible sight before me. There—a very beautiful creature—standing at my doorway, smiling so sweetly at me. My heart skipped a beat as I gazed at her incredulously. I wanted to utter a word or two, but there was like a terrible spasm in my throat that hindered me from speaking. I could hardly breathe and my heartbeat was so loud that I wouldn't be needing a stethoscope to hear the throb of emotions, pounding so hard against my rib cage.

She was so real yet so unreal. The unworldly glow, which was engulfing her thoroughly, stunned me to the deepest core of my being.

"How—"

My voice broke off. I was completely incapacitated by her celestial charm. I was so captivated by her unearthly radiance that I had just noticed how angelic she was. She was wearing a knee-high, white ethereal chiffon dress that gracefully matched her radiant shine. She looked so unnaturally beautiful. She amazingly appeared to be five-hundred years younger. Her skin was so delicate that comparing it to a newborn baby would be an awful understatement. It was like all of her were enhanced to perfection: the hair, the eyes, the skin, the face, the lips—it was so inexplicable, all too stunning to describe in words. Everything about her was simply serene, so divine, so . . .

"Beautiful." My breath dropped as I absentmindedly mumbled my astonishment. She certainly knocked the conscious side of me. Her beauty and her compelling grace were eminently beyond comparison. But at the back of my mind, there was one person who was on par with the perfection she possessed—the person of unequaled beauty herself, the perfectly flawless—Alice Cullen.

She arched her perfect eyebrow. "That's sweet." She was not angry nor displeased, but she sounded sarcastic and dangerous. Very dangerous.

She walked or more likely floated towards me and I unconsciously moved backwards. Once she was inside, the door slammed and I heard a click on the door lock.

As my incredulous eyes were locked on her beautiful green orbs for only God knew how long, the fear inside my chest melted and all the longing I felt for her came back to life. My lips upturned into a sad, wistful smile. I suddenly felt the pain of ardent desire to grab her into my arms. My hands involuntarily raised, aiming to feel the translucent flesh before me. Dead or alive, ghost or no ghost, real or unreal, she's the same girl that I loved. She was the same . . .

"Quinn."

* * *

If three days ago was the worst day for me, today was the best day since Quinn's death. I woke up so early in the morning, too early that I still heard Charlie's loud snores from across the room. That was when I realized I actually hadn't been sleeping at all. Four days without proper, adequate rest? That's just fine. I missed her too much to even think of closing my eyes.

Quinn and I barely talked last night. We were just smiling and staring longingly at each other, fixing my whole mind and attention to her, afraid that she would vanish the mere second I would drop my gaze. I tried to touch her numerous times, but my efforts were all futile. I badly yearned for this—to feel her warm skin, to taste her sweet lips that were once part of my own. But having to see and hear her voice were more than enough for me. I was just so glad and thankful that she's here with me now.

"Isabella," I could feel her gazing intently at me from the passenger seat. I peeked sideways with a smile on my face, helplessly admiring her perfect features. _Ugh!_ If I could only touch her, I would grab her and hug her like there's no future ahead of us. This not touching her was torturing me to death. "The road."

I chuckled and faced the road. "Yes, ma'am!"

At this point, we were now halfway to Forks High. Some part of me wanted to turn the wheel around, ditch school, and go anywhere where Quinn and I could enjoy a lone time together. But the biggest and most convincing part of me wanted where Alice would be at. I couldn't deny the fact that I was thrilled to see her once more. Even just for a little while.

My reverie was cut short by a cold feeling on my right arm. I looked down and saw Quinn's hand on top of mine. She looked at me with those despairing eyes and smiled joylessly.

I stopped the truck immediately and faced her. "Baby, what's wrong?" I asked in a low, husky voice. I felt all the remaining energy I had evaporated. My heart ached at seeing her eyes brimmed with tears.

"This is nothing. I'm just . . ." She removed her hand and looked away. "happy." She looked at me again, but only for a short second. "Please drive."

I let out a weary breath and did what she said. I was driving to Forks High with my head hanging in the air. When we reached school, I automatically steered the wheel to where I had parked yesterday. I had to admit, it's the only place I felt easy and comfortable leaving my so damn awesome truck in the middle of a freaking woodland.

And when we reached the place, there was already a shiny silver Volvo on the second parking spot. _Wow_. That's the nicest car I had seen at this school so far.

Like yesterday, I went on the third spot, deliberately trying not to hit the silver Volvo on its side. Just as after I successfully parked my truck next to it, something had made my flesh creep. My head twisted directly to the right. Narrowing my eyes, I heedlessly stared hard at the Volvo's excessively tinted window. I had a weird, eerie feeling about that car. It felt like there was someone in the inside watching me with an intent of ripping my throat off. I shivered at the thought and shook off the horrifying feeling in my stomach.

"Bella!"

I shifted my gaze to Quinn at once. My stony profile softened as she looked me straight in the eye. I felt so vulnerable and transparent under her gaze. I felt _those_ moments when you wanted to surrender everything to her. "What's that look about?" I pouted. "I feel like I had done something really bad just now."

"What's the problem?" She asked simply, completely ignoring my cuteness.

I forced a fair smile. "Nothing, babe." I lied, obviously. She squinted her eyes. That look—she knew I was lying. "That—oh, er. . . I like the car. It's Volvo. It's silver. And, umm, did I ever mention, it's really shiny?" I stuttered stupidly. _What the heck!_ I was a thousand times smarter than that.

I glanced back at the Volvo, mainly avoiding her doubting eyes. But there was really something on that car that disturbed me and I couldn't help not looking back at it.

"Hmm . . ." She muttered, peering over her shoulder. Before I could even released my breath, she vanished and suddenly appeared against the shiny car.

I was greatly astonished by her magic or whatever ghosts called it, but more than that, I was alarmed. "What are you doing?" I asked, hastily jumping off the truck from the passenger seat. She knitted her brows and pursed her lips. I sighed loudly, folding my arms. "Ah, let me guess, you won't tell me a thing."

She grinned. "I'm quite impressed. You're getting sharper, Bella." I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to react to her statement. Should I thank her for the complement or should I get angry? _Am I really that dull?_

Her smile broadened. "Oh, baby. You should know."

I looked at her quizzically. Quinn was really strange lately. First, she's not as sweet and flirty and aggressive like a year ago, before she died. Now, she's discreet and sometimes unresponsive. She wouldn't speak unless if it really was necessary for her to talk. And if she did, it's all vague and puzzling _and_ teasing. Those were definitely not her character. She was sharp, straightforward, and brash. Maybe these had something to do with her being a ghost or something.

"Oh c'mon, babe. Don't be such a tease." I complained.

"You know what, the more you talk, the more others will make fun of you. You'll see." She hushed. "Now, just keep quiet and wait."

I was about to retort when the door next to her suddenly swung open. My pitiful soul practically jumped out of my body at seeing my nightmare's dazzling appearance. He got off the car smoothly then closed the door behind him.

_Edward. _His overly haughty sexy lips twisted into a mischievous lopsided smirk. _Him of all people! Gosh! I could die right now._

"Be nice to him, Bella. It's not everyday you meet a gentleman as nice as him." I immediately looked at Quinn, boldly showing my shock. She was comfortably standing close to him. Her smile was very alluring and irritating at the same time.

My attention went directly at him the second I heard him purposely cleared his throat. "You should be thankful that I'm always so good at keeping secrets." When I gave him a questioning look, he continued. "You're not so bright, are you?" He said with a storm of arrogance.

My jaws clenched. I glared at him steadily, secretly trying to formulate a snappy attack as quickly as I could, but his sweet, suffocating smell rudely jumbled the words in my head. And all I could think of saying was _I am so dead._

_But here it goes._ "Like it's your freaking business! What the hell are you doing here anyway?" I swore I saw him flinched at my harsh tone. I, too, was taken aback by my own words. But he seemed to be more shocked than I was. "So-sorry." I stuttered, highly embarrassed over my behavior.

Quinn laughed. Her laughter was so free and easy. In as much as I liked to smile, I wouldn't. Not to his face. He's not worth anything from me.

For the first time, I witnessed him smiling lightheartedly. "It's fine. You're definitely weirder than I thought." He pressed his lips, hiding his amused grin. "In a good way that is." Was he trying to be nice to me now? Because it's clearly not working. I still loathed him. "Well, to answer your question, the school has granted my family these parking spaces for a very long time since I can remember. You can, of course, feel free to park here whenever you like." He took a glimpse of my truck then back at me. "Cool truck, by the way. It suits you."

"Are you being sarcastic?" I spat, mimicking his stance. _Of course, he was. He's Edward—uhm._ Now I realized I didn't know his family name.

"Give him a chance." Quinn injected, sounding so pleased. "He's actually very humble _and_ sweet."

_You gotta be kiddin' me!? _I almost shouted at Quinn in disbelief. I couldn't understand why she's defending him just like that. She didn't even know him. I was her girlfriend for heaven's sake! She should take my side on whatever cost.

"I don't have to." He replied coolly, narrowing his eyes even more. "Tell me why you always keep on looking at my car." He glanced sideways then smirked. "You like it?"

_Shit._

He must have thought I was viewing it while in truth I was looking at Quinn the whole fucking time. That's one of the million reasons why I hated that disgustingly snotty guy! He's too proud of himself and did he really think he's _that_ perfect!?I hated how a girl as pure as Alice would fall for him. He might have the most tempting charm, but his ugly attitude killed it all.

"Or does your silence suggests that you'd rather prefer for the owner?"

"Excuse you!?" _The nerve! See! Ugh!_ My whole body growled with vexation. I wanted to severely kick his bigheaded balls and punch him hard on the face. My nose scrunched with extreme annoyance while he was standing there, so relax and carefree like he was all entertained and everything. His calm presence infuriated me to the extremes!

"Hey! Am I late?"

The sweet, silvery voice reached my eardrums faster than the speed of light. It quelled my flaming anger swiftly and effortlessly, and in an instant, I forgot how much I wanted to kill that tall bigot in front of me. My eyes darted to her direction and I could tell Edward and Quinn were doing the same.

"Nope. Not at all." I heard Edward spoke so gentle and soft that at first I thought there was someone else besides us at the restricted parking lot. "Where's your car?"

She smiled, fixing her gaze only to Edward as if I wasn't there. "I was not in the mood to bring it. I let Emmett drive me here." She walked so gracefully towards us like she was dancing in the air. She glanced at me, but very shortly, not even close to a millisecond.

The way she looked at him really troubled me. _I don't like this. _I cussed deep down. In my hearts of hearts, I badly wanted her to greet and smile at me. But she barely regarded me let alone smile and talk. I wanted to grab her face and make her look at me again, even for another briefest moment.

"So, you two know each other?" She asked him, her smile faded. She was standing between Edward and I, yet she acted like I didn't fucking exist. It's really awful how fast people changed. Yesterday, she was all good and friendly, then today, she acted like a total freaking stranger. Well, not that she thought of me as her friend but still, it bothered me.

"Yeah. Except that I don't know her name." Edward reacted quickly. I didn't even hear what Alice had said or asked. I was completely consumed by my own anxious thoughts.

Alice laughed cheerfully. No matter how hard I tried not to smile, my lips betrayed me. The soothing, musical laughter was just too irresistibly beautiful in my ears. But in all honestly, I was kind of sad that I was not the one who made her laugh.

"Let me introduce you two, then." She said while resting her hand on Edward's shoulder then regarded me with a small smile. "Bella, Edward." I immediately locked her gaze, totally forgetting to acknowledge the handsome bastard beside her. The same electrifying intensity ran over me as she looked deep into my eyes. "And Edward, this is Isabella." And the way she slowly uttered my name made my gut shudder with both delight and nervousness. "But call her Bella." She added quietly, narrowing her eyes with the same smile that I could never decipher. She looked away almost in a flash, dipping her head down. There was a short awkward silence before she looked up, looking everywhere but me. I continued to look at her, but she was seemingly avoiding my gaze. "So, uhm, shall we go inside?" She said, glancing at Edward.

It was then I realized that it was the first time she looked back at him. Alice and I were gazing intently at each other while she introduced me to Edward, to her damn so lucky boyfriend.

* * *

Edward and Alice left without saying another word. As I looked at their retreating figures, a twinge of discomfort was, until now, worming my chest.

Quinn was silently observing our conversation. She didn't react nor commented about the whole thing neither asked who Alice was. She was silent the whole time. No, I believed she fell silent when Alice came.

Okay, enough about that already. It's time for a serious Math.

"Please answer pages eleven to twelve on your book. And _please_ try to answer it on your own." Mr. Denali winked at the class. He was truly the coolest Math teacher ever! How could I not like him when he was as awesome as Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine. If it wasn't Mr. Denali teaching this so boring subject, I was now probably mulling over the idea of committing suicide. He was that great of a teacher! Plus he was able to tame an uncivilized beast like James the creep. I heard rumors that most of the teachers were having a tough time dealing with him in their classes. But when it came to this period, James behaved like a normal, well-mannered student.

"I think it would be way more fun if you're in the same classes with Edie."

_Edie? _I looked up at Quinn, who was sitting on my desk. "Edward? Really? You two are BFFs now?" I whispered with fuming annoyance. I was becoming unusually petulant at her. "Can you please, urg, I'm really in a _very_ good mood to argue with you right now, Q—"

"Ms. Swan?" Mr. Denali called my attention in a very tender, fatherly voice. "Are there any concerns?"

Everyone in class was looking at me. I tried so hard not to meet their curious stares, especially James' thirsty gloat. I nodded, giving Mr. Denali a convincing smile and immediately flipped through the pages of my book, pretending to go back on my seatwork. But in actuality, I was silently pulling myself together. I became extremely nauseous and so giddy all of a sudden that the numbers and letters on the book became dim and bleary. Thankfully, the bell rang and I didn't need to excuse myself to go out of the room.

I tried to get up, but the world was terribly spinning and I had this sickening feeling to hurl in a matter of seconds. I sat back on my seat, resting my head on the table._ I'm fine. I will be fine. I'm totally fine. _I reiterated over in my head, forcefully assuring myself. Because I knew I wasn't.

"Don't force it. Try go to the clinic and have yourself checked." I heard Quinn's apathetic voice behind me. I wasn't upset by it. She was just being herself. I knew her too well and I knew she cared. Oh yeah, she cared a lot.

I breathed out heavily, smiling. "What a nice way to comfort me, babe."

"Uh. . . Bella?" I looked up to see Mike smiling nervously at me. "Hey."

I straightened up slowly and smiled back at him. "Hi, Mike. What's up?"

He seemed hesitant. He glanced at the book I was pretending to answer then gazed back at me. "A-are you okay? You seem a _little_ not okay."

I snickered at his words and saw him dropped his shoulders. "Sorry." I actually didn't expect him to be so sensitive and caring. "I just. . . ahm. . . I'm fine. Why did you think I'm not okay?"

His eyebrows pulled together. "I just had this feeling that you're not. You know, I'm just a _little_ worried."

"Yeah, hmm. . . " _This will be really awkward, _I thought. "I kinda feel a _little_ dizzy, but bearable." I admitted, trying to lighten up a bit.

I grabbed my book and placed everything in my bag before standing very carefully. "Hey. Can you, uhm, walk me to my next class? I need someone to hold me up, you know, just in case." I laughed sarcastically. "Unfortunately for me, ghosts can't manage my weight."

"Har-har." I smiled at Quinn's expression.

But I actually wanted to laugh at Mike's. His face stiffened as his eyes widened with mixture of surprise and confusion. "Er. . ." He chuckled. He was clearly being man, trying to laugh at my joke. _How sweet and utterly stupid._ I thought to myself. "Yeah, sure." He smiled broadly, gently grabbing my bag. "Let me carry that for you."

"Ew. How so sweet of him." Quinn jested. "Honey, tell the poor boy you're gay." Or maybe not. She was being mean, again. When I said she was being mean, I meant she was just being Quinn.

I rolled my eyes. She was sitting with her legs crossed on Mr. Denali's table. Mr. Denali was still on his seat, checking and reviewing papers, totally oblivious of the case.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Denali." Mike voiced out the words in my head as we walked gingerly towards the door. I waved at Mr. Denali, who was smiling back at us.

Mike was doing everything to prevent me from slumping to the floor, even if it wasn't really that necessary for him to touch me here and there and hold me ever so tightly.

I wasn't sure if it was just me or the people we stumbled upon the hallway were glaring at me. They all looked at me like I was a retarded bitch clinging onto the hottest man on the planet. Ack! That's really beyond gross! I liked Mike because evidently he's a nice boy, but if they really thought I was hitting on him then they were dreadfully wrong.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Mike said, whispering in my ear. "Ignore them. They're just jealous."

I turned around too abruptly, giving him a look that said he was definitely crazy and crazy. Just crazy. "Wow. If they really think you and I are—"

"No. No. I didn't mean that." Mike didn't let me finish. "I meant the Cullens." He quickly added.

"The Cullens?" I wasn't sure if I heard him right. "_Cullens_? With an '_s'_? Like more than one Cullen?" I sounded so utterly stupid, I thought. Good thing Mike did not react to that.

"Yeah. Alice and Edward, remember? You're the only person who actually talks and friends with them."

I stopped walking as his words had finally reached my brain. "Wait. Edward? The cocky, I-only-love-myself Edward? He is a Cullen?"

"Yeah." Mike furrowed his brow. "Alice and Edward Cullen. They're cousins. You didn't know that?"

_Oh gosh. _I never thought of that. How could I be so smart yet so dumb? Now that I had thought of it, their beauty and flawlessness, their glamour and everything were very much the same. There's no doubt they're family.

* * *

Okay. Edward and Alice were, in fact, closely related and I was thinking horrible things about them. Especially to Edward. But they were too sweet and Edward acted more like a boyfriend than a cousin. They couldn't blame me for hating him that much. And I couldn't blame myself either. He had all the reasons in the world to be hated.

All these Alice and Edward stuffs made me more lightheaded. I was glad Mr. Marcus didn't mind me or us neglecting his class. He let us do whatever we liked while he was murmuring his long, boring lecture. So I grabbed the chance and slept in his class. But it was still not enough to alleviate the whirling sensation in my head.

After History class, Mike was already at the door waiting for me. If I was not this sick and if only Quinn could carry me around, I would have had to tell Mike to keep his distance. He was kinda annoying and a parasite—a total freaking perv.

"Bella! Hey!" Mike exclaimed. He went inside the room, wearing his huge, enthusiastic smile.

"Here comes your boyfriend." Quinn chanted, scornfully. It was too obvious she didn't like the boy. "I'm outta here. If you need anything, just call me. Make sure to say my name correctly if you have the plan." Then she disappeared.

_Not again._

I really wondered why she didn't like Mike, who was so good to me, while it was also too damn obvious that she liked that Edward. Was it because Edward was so fucking handsome and Mike was just Mike? I sighed inwardly, bumping my head on my desk. "I wanna die. Right Now."

"Hey B, what's wrong?" Mike's voice was really creepy behind my ear. I felt his disgusting breath fanning my neck. It felt like he was embracing me from behind. _Urg! _Deadly goose bumps were creeping all over me.

"Yeah. Feeling great now that you're here." I said bitterly. I stood up in a rush, hideously freaking out. "And no, don't call me that. Just call me Bella, please." I really hated how people acted so easy around me like we were all close or something. Most especially boys.

He didn't seem to get the meaning of my tone and body language since he was smiling like crazy.

When I was on my feet, I noticed Angela looking at me with wide eyes like she had just seen a ghost. She was strangely very quiet earlier in the class and she kept on glancing at me with those terrified face. "You okay?"

"Ah-yeah." Angela shook then dipped her head. "I'm fine." She muttered.

I stepped closer to her. "You know you can tell me anything. I may look like a tough-ass bitch on the outside but I treasure friends. And I totally consider you as one." I told her honestly.

She smiled, fretfully gripping on the strap of her bag. "Thanks." I was expecting her to say something, but nothing. I was not quite convinced at that. I needed to know what was troubling her. I had a hunch that it somehow had to do with me.

I made out of the hallway and reached the cafeteria alive. I hated to say this but it was all thanks to Mike. We were heading to the same table yesterday when out of nowhere Jessica cheered my name and hugged me. I caught a glimpse of Angela's face. I didn't want to judge or conclude things but if someone were to ask me, I would say it was a jealous expression. Now, I was totally and completely mystified about her.

"I can't tell you how so excited I am, Bella . . ." My face puckered in an annoyed frown. I couldn't keep on listening to everything she said unless I wanted to blow my head off, literally. We were now eating our food with the same seven people surrounding the table. The only person who, I thought, was actually listening to her was Angela. Damn girl. She must have a unique sense of hearing and, not to mention, patience. "Bella, are you listening to me?"

Thoughtlessly, my head swiveled to Angela's direction who was meeting my gaze. We quickly averted each others eyes then pretending to focus back on Jessica. "Of course. Yeah, yeah. So, uhm, where were we?" Jessica sighed too loudly. She was obviously over exaggerating. "As I was saying, Bella . . ." She uttered with unnecessary emphasis. "Edward maybe has a thing for—"

"Wait. What about Edward?" If she wanted to capture my attention, she should talk about the Cullens.

"Oh gosh!" She dropped her fork loud on the table, expressly showing every sign of irritation.

"Sorry, Jess. I was kinda, uhm, occupied right now. Anyway, what was that again?"

"Fine! I forgive you. But only this time." She was looking at me fiercely for a while then, after a moment, smiled excitedly as if she was not pissed at me a while back. "Anyway, like I said, he's constantly checking out on you." She jutted out her chin, wiggling her eyebrows seductively. "See it for yourself."

I turned halfway and regrettably met his forbidding gaze. He was sitting at the farthest table in the room with Alice sitting quietly beside him. And just like the usual, he eyed me closely through narrowed eyes—those hot, penetrating green orbs that always sent creepy chills on my back.

"What's his problem?" I muttered my discomfort to no one in particular. He looked away the moment Alice stood up and picked her bag. She said something to Edward, but they were just too far for me to know what they were talking. Her lips were too distracting to even try to focus on what she was saying.

I turned back around when Alice left their table, hurriedly. I wondered what was wrong. She seemed not in her peppy self.

"Seriously? I really don't see why people go gaga over that guy. I mean, yeah he's good-looking, but more than that, he's really weird and creepy." I finally vented my impression and resentment, brushing off the glower Jessica gave me. "Really, really creepy." I repeated to further annoy Jessica.

She was making this attitude shake on the head with eyes screaming exasperation. "Are you joking!?" She groaned and her face was apparently beyond annoyed now. _Great, that's what all I need now._ "We're talking about Edward Cullen here!"

"So? What's your point?" Mike butted in, sounding like a jealous boyfriend, defending me. "Obviously Jess, Bella's not interested." He was sitting next to me and to his right was another girl. In front of us were Eric, Angela, a guy whose name I couldn't remember, and the bitch—Jessica. "What's with that guy anyway? I get that he's a Cullen, but he's just a guy with—"

"You two don't get it, do you? Well, basically, he's just the most handsome, the hottest, and the richest guy in Washington." Jessica raved, grabbing people's attentions.

"Look, guys!" I raised my hands, stopping them from strangling each others necks. "Jess, Mike's right." I shrugged calmly. "I don't care. I swear I'm really not interested. . ." I paused then glanced at Mike. "to anyone." I stood, looking each and everyone of them, especially Jessica and Mike. "I kinda already have. . . _someone_." I wasn't sure if I uttered the correct word for it, but after everything said, I left the table.

I heard Mike shouted my name twice, but I ignored him. I kept on walking despite having this awful sensation going on in my body. I slowed my pace, mildly touching my face, which was now starting to tingle. My head was becoming heavier as I felt my whole body deadened and my knees weakened. Then suddenly everything became dark. And all I could remember feeling was floating on the soft, cottony clouds, embracing the sweet breath of an angel screaming my name.

"Bella! Isabella!"

**to be continued.**

* * *

**Guys, I am truly sorry for updating soooooo late. I lost my muse, but no worries I kinda found it again and kept it well secured in my heart. :) I'll update later this week to make it up to you. Really sorry. :(**

**-K**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

"Hey, you're finally awake. You really scared me there."

I rubbed my eyes—my vision was still bleary. I turned my head toward the voice, squinting my eyes to see who it was. "Mike?"

Mike smiled happily. "You feeling alright? You want me to call the nurse?" He asked, about to stand up before I stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"No. I'm fine." I scanned the room, noting three gurneys on my right and other hospital equipment and everything else was white. I must be in the school clinic. "Who—" I shook my head, looking at Mike. "What happened?"

His bright smile toned down. "I followed you when you walked out the table. But I wasn't close enough to catch you when you passed out." He dropped his gaze and held my hand over my stomach. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"Mike, I don't get it." He didn't need to apologize if that was his reason. He was not freaking Captain America. It's completely understandable. But I also couldn't just lay down here without knowing what really happened. I sat up gently and leaned my back against the metallic headboard. I partly faced Mike, not minding his rough hand on mine. I was too weary to focus on that. "Can you be more a bit specific?"

He looked at me with sorry in his blue eyes. "Before you hit the ground, Alice Cullen jumped from nowhere and caught you in her arms. The next thing I knew, Edward Cullen came running, lifted you then brought you here. It was all too quick. It happened like in a flash."

"Alice caught me?" I mumbled to myself, blown away by the stunning idea that I was in Alice Cullen's arms. _Let me repeat that—I was in the Alice Cullen's arms. Oh wow. I really like the sound of that. I was in Alice's arms. Okay, enough._

"And now, everybody's wondering about your relationship with the Cullens. . ."

I heard Mike speaking something, but the words were just not entering my brain.

Why would the Cullens do that? Especially Edward. Considering the cold glowers he was fiercely displaying at the mere sight of my face. He obviously hated me as much as I hated him. Unintentionally, we had that kind of weird effect on each other. And Alice. I thought she left the cafeteria and went out somewhere. How in the world she got there before I collapsed on the white-tiled floor. Plus, she was acting strange and candidly ignored my whole existence as though I was an invisible specter.

". . . people are thinking that you and Edward are together. I told them—"

His words pierced through my chain of thoughts like a flash of lightning. "What!?" I snapped, making Mike jerked from his seat. Hearing Edward's name would always grab my attention. It was as if my brain knew what Edward meant in my vocabulary—tantamount to a huge disaster. I knew my face was showing off every sign of shock and annoyance. Why would people always assume hideous things like that. We didn't even regard each other like boyfriends and girlfriends. We were more like mortal enemies ready to strike each other's butts any time soon. Mike let go of my hand to rub his throat, smiling nervously to himself. I had a creepy feeling about what he would say as I looked at his uneasy expression. "What did you say?" I finally dared to ask.

"I—I told them that, umm. . ." His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes. He looked like he was bearing all the pains in the world. He opened them before speaking so softly, making me leaned closer to him. "Bella, please don't get mad. I was only—I only did that to—"

"What!? Mike, spit it out already!" I was already becoming snappish by the second he purposely wasted mumbling. "Okay, what in cow's glory did you tell them?"

"Pro—promise me you won't get mad." He stammered, looking at me under his thick lashes.

I rolled my eyes at his attempt of quenching my annoyance through his awful pout, which looked like he was scowling, and his horrible puppy eyes that I terribly wanted to poke out. "I won't promise anything." I said simply. "You're gonna tell me or not? 'Cause I'll definitely find it out myself."

His shoulders raised as he tilted his head straight, but his eyes were glued on his hands trifling the bedsheet. "I—I kinda told them we're dating."

"What!? Why on earth did you say that!?" I couldn't believe he just broadcasted something as stupid as that. And I highly doubted those suckers would not believe him. He's kinda popular in this school.

"Bella, I know. And I'm deeply sorry." He blurted, stopping me from almost kicking his face. "Believe me, I just did that because people were saying these things to you." His face puckered as if what he said was not disgusting enough. "And I didn't like it. It was really out of line. Sorry." How foolishly sweet of him for doing that to protect me. I closed my eyes in an attempt to placate my burning rage.

_Oh God! Please enlighten me to accept stupid people the way they are and give me the strength to stop myself from killing this very creature in front of me._ I guessed after I said my prayer, I calmed down a bit and didn't feel the need to act on my fury. Gratefully, prayers worked all the time. I would have to let him pass this time.

I opened my eyes slowly, still feeling wasted. Resting my head on the headboard, I sighed overdramatically. "You know you could have just told them it's not true or that I was dating _someone_ else. They would probably stop buzzing about that absurd rumor of Edward and I being together. You just added fuel to the fire." I said, my brow furrowed. The stabbing pain in my head was starting to nag at me again. "And how could they even think that Edward and I are dating?" My voice hiked up impulsively. "It's so insane. I don't even like. . . the guy." I initially wanted to say something harsh about him, but the fact that he was the one who came to my rescue made me think otherwise.

"It's just that the Cullens are _special_. They _rarely_ talk to people our level." _Okay._ His choice of words had my head zoomed over the moon._ Special? Our level? _Where did they come from, the outer space? "We've never seen them interacting with people until you came. They're aloof and just. . . uninterested. So the rumor about you and Edward seems to make sense."

As soon as Mike finished, I swore I heard him swallow an invincible lump in his throat. "Are they really like that? I mean, distant to people."

"You can say that. I've known Edward all my life since we, the people in Forks, practically grew up together. He's reserved and unsociable. He hardly acknowledge us let alone opens his mouth to talk. . ."

"What about Alice?" I said before Mike could even finish his sentence. I hoped I wasn't that obvious. I just wanted to know _a little _about her. "She can't be that bad. She's nice and friendly."

Mike seemed reluctant but he nodded nonetheless. "Comparing to Edward, yeah, she is. But we actually don't know her that much since she just moved here last year. Just like her cousin, she doesn't talk to people. Well, except you."

I honestly never saw that coming. First, Edward and Alice appeared to be so close and inseparable like they had been through a lot together. Second, I could not imagine Alice not talking to people. She had more than the qualities to be considered a socialite. Her bouncy personality and the pleasant atmosphere that was surrounding her made it impossible for people not to get hooked. She was an eyeful charmer. Everything about her dazzled you to no end. She was simply and unbelievably beyond amazing. There were still no words on Earth that could perfectly describe how utterly beautiful and alluring she was. I would think it's abnormal to be that perfect unless she was a freaking goddess.

"Bella, you okay? Does your head still hurt?" Mike's distraught voice pulled me back to reality. It took me forever to realize he was slowly drawing closer to my face; his lusty eyes never left my lips. My eyes magnified in horror as I felt his shaky, icky breath on my mouth. I froze with downright stupefaction. I was thoroughly overwhelmed with terror that I panicked and could not move a muscle. I was helplessly sitting my ass on the bed, horridly waiting for Mike to touch my lips. _This can't be happening to me. Where is help when I need them? _I screamed in my head, praying that this was just another nightmare. But it's not. I knew I would later gag on my own thought as I earnestly wished Edward would be here and grab this asshole's disgusting face away from me.

"Isabella."

Then the stern, powerful call from across the room broke whatever was in Mike's filthy head to literally jumped far away from me. He instantly turned his body to his left toward the door. Because of the thick white curtain blocking my sight in front, I couldn't tell who or what caused Mike to become so stiff. He looked so stunned with his jaws agape. And in an instant, I felt the same familiar invigorating goose bumps running over my whole body. Right then, I knew _who_ it was.

"A—Alice." Mike murmured almost incomprehensibly. He stepped backwards—his face was as pale as the color of the room; his eyes widened in fear.

"You can go to your class now. I can take care of Bella from here." Her voice was firm yet it was still remarkably captivating. And only after a few seconds I saw her heavenly, flawless face staring hard at Mike, posing a subtle warning for him to leave the room at once. I didn't know how I understood it, but it was too obvious by the look she was blatantly showing Mike—a deadpan expression with an eyebrow raised and killer-piercing eyes. There's got to be more obvious than that.

I gulped at the sight. I felt everything in me frantically recognized her immaculate presence. I still did not get why I felt this way. It's crazy yet I could never deny I was ecstatic of the feeling.

"Su—sure." Mike briefly glanced at me, giving me a curt nod. He bustled toward the door like lingering here a second longer would put his life in danger. _Yeah! Served him right!_

I smiled inwardly but froze once again when her rich golden brown eyes flickered on mine. Narrowing her eyes, her perfect lips lifted into a small smile. Her gaze was steady and. . . intense.

I felt my blood rushed to my face. I could see myself blushing horribly. I immediately averted her gaze once I became aware that I was staring at her stupidly. I dropped my head down to hide what was left to hide. The embarrassment of seeing me flush was not something to smile about.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked with her singsong voice as she sat on the bed and not on the chair Mike had sat on. My heart was racing as she moved closer that we were now an arm-reach apart. I could smell the sweet, stimulating fragrance radiating in every part of her body. I impulsively bit my inner lip, trying my might not to moan._ How can she even do this to me!? And how can she even be so fucking perfect?_

I sighed deep down, hesitantly locking her gaze. _I can do this. This is only Alice Cullen. Get a hold of yourself, Bella! _I repeated that mantra over and over until I decided to answer her question. "Yeah—uhm—good." _What the hell was that!?_

She laughed softly, shaking her head from side to side. I shivered at the impossibly beautiful, perfect sound. "Yup, I guess you're fine." She smiled at me warmly, unknowingly sending butterflies down to the pit of my stomach.

I breathed in a lungful of air, straightened up to show a little sign of confidence. We were still locking each other's gaze and I found it so hard to let go. "Thanks, er, for, uhm, catching me earlier. If—if it weren't for you, I probably had suffered an head injury by now." Though I awfully stuttered many times, I was still thankful I found my voice again.

Right after I said that, I noticed her perfect brows pulled _very slightly _ into a frown. And just like that, it was quickly gone. "Probably." She smiled halfheartedly, to my dismay, removing her gaze. "I was close to you when that happened." _Wait_. Did Mike say she jumped from nowhere? How could he not notice Alice was there? I stared at her suspiciously. I had a gut feeling Alice was lying or, at least, hiding something from me.

My long silence made her look back at me. She nibbled her bottom lip as her suffocating eyes boring into mine. I forced myself so hard to avoid looking at her lips, which was so freaking frustrating and exhausting. She always had her ways to render me speechless. Oh, that was one thing I hated about her.

"You know what time it is?" Her face was impassive but I could hear the smile in her voice.

I shook my head, not knowing what to say. She smiled and leaped off the bed. "It's Physics." She said matter-of-factly. "If you're wondering why I am here, there are two reasons: one, I want to know how you're doing and two, I can't let you be alone with our hot Physics teacher in a confined room tomorrow." Her smile broadened into a mischievous smirk. "You know. . ." She drawled out the words teasingly, looking at me with those extremely sexy look. _Oh gosh!_ Didn't she have any idea she's actually torturing me to death right now? "so we could answer the test together. I don't want you to answer the test all by yourself."

"Oh." was the only response I could muster. I knew my face looked so stupid at this moment as she was clearly amused by it. "I really forgot about that." I added to make myself sensible. She might think I was that dumb. Evidently, I couldn't blame her if she thought of that.

She cocked her head to her side with an amused grin and a hand on her hip. "I asked Ms. Sutherland for a special exam. It will be tomorrow after class."

I nodded, giving her a small smile. Wow, she really knew what to say. I couldn't even think a single word to say to her.

"Ms. Swan?" A raspy, female voice called my name. I spontaneously swiveled my head to my right to see a slender, tall woman in her early thirties wearing a wrinkle-free white uniform and a very kind smile on her thin lips. "I'm Nurse Dollson. You can call me Rachel." She moved closer so she was standing beside my bed and handed me a small white plastic bottle. "Vitamins." She answered before I could ask her. _Oh, wow._ I couldn't remember the last time I took those stuffs. "Don't forget to take that after meal and make sure to have proper, adequate rest. It's very important." Her smile faded. "I'm sure you know what will happen if you won't."

"Yes. I'm sorry." I said sheepishly. "I'll do everything you say."

"Good!" She exclaimed, looking pleased. She glanced at Alice with a wide smile. "And oh, Ms. Cullen. His father said you can drive her home. It took much convincing but, you know, I had my ways. So you two can go now."

"Thank you." I looked at Alice incredulously. She was smiling the same kind of smile I could not read. _Oh, this_—_this can't be real._

* * *

"Are you sure? I mean—I can go on my own. You really don't have to do this. I swear I'm okay." I said this line over a hundred times as Alice and I walked toward the restricted parking lot. People gawked at us like we were hotshot celebrities marching in their school hallway. Alice was nonchalant of the whole attention while I secretly chuckled at the silly look on their faces. That was before I noticed not everyone was as amazed as the others. Some or mostly all of them glared at me like I was a vicious criminal who murdered their parents. Of course, I knew the reason behind the angry, piercing stares. Big freaking jealousy.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, Isabella?"

I breathed out loudly, too exaggeratedly loud to be exact. She pressed her lips, without a doubt, suppressing a smile. Gosh! She was so stubborn as she was so damn perfect! She wouldn't accept any of my excuses. I almost knelt down and begged her to let me go home alone. She already had my car keys before I could say no to her ridiculous idea of driving me home.

Before I could hopelessly object again, she trod to the driver side of my truck and opened the door with a sexy smirk tugged on her overly seductive pink lips. But then, before I could even release my breath, her dainty features creased into an annoyed grimace, looking hard at me. Or so I thought.

"Alice, your father won't be pleased."

Promptly, I spun my body around to the irritatingly melodious voice. He was a feet behind me yet I did not hear a single footfall coming from him. _Edward._ He totally ignored me, not even a glance or whatever. Not that I wanted him to acknowledge me or anything, but he went to my aid a while back. He should at least say hi or something. But nothing.

"I know." The familiar loud roar of the engine jolted me out of my reverie. I turned my back on Edward, facing Alice. She was now behind the steering wheel, looking at Edward intently. I glanced back at Edward and he was doing the same. They had a silent communication going on and by the serious look on their abnormally flawless faces, I could say it wasn't that good. "Bella, get in." Alice said sternly that I instinctively jumped in the passenger seat. Before I could even close the door, the truck scooted away from the parking lot. I peeped over my shoulder and had an eye contact with Edward. Like the usual, his face was as hard as his icy glare. I really had no idea what caused him to abhor me that much. I sent him a fair glare before breaking off our intense gaze.

"Sorry about that." She said softly, fixing her eyes on the road.

"It's nothing." I said as I heedlessly positioned myself so that I was facing her with my back comfortably against the passenger door. "You know, I think he hates me. Like really hates me." I blurted out, finally venting my boiling resentment. She glanced at me with one eyebrow slightly raised. I had to bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. She was clearly taken aback by my confession. I shrugged, pretending to play it cool. "It's not that it bothers me." Of course, it always did! I just couldn't tell that to her face. "I'm just rather curious why he's always acting that way at seeing my face. I know he's your family and all and you certainly have the right to defend him, but the guy _really_ creeps me out. Hmm. . . How can I say this. . ." I paused, tilting my head up as if I was in a very deep thought. "He's weird." I murmured after a short break. I looked at her and shrugged again. "I'm just saying."

I expected her to stop the truck and lash out some harsh words at me after what I said about Edward—her seemingly close cousin—but she had really caught me off guard when she laughed gleefully as though what I said was the funniest thing she had heard. "Yes, you're right. He is _kinda_ weird." She continued to laugh again, her shoulders were uncontrollably shaking.

I honestly felt my heart swelled twice its size at hearing the sweet, breathtaking music of her laughter that I momentarily thought my chest would burst. But I knew that was just so impossible to happen and, moreover, preposterous to even think of. So I brushed off the crazy thought and gladly joined her.

A few minutes after our laughter had died down, my phone vibrated behind me nonstop. Rolling my eyes, I heaved in an ample amount of air through my nose, already knowing who was calling me. I seized my phone in my jeans back pocket and answered without looking at the caller ID. "Yeah, dad?" I squirmed on my seat, suddenly becoming uncomfortable of my position consequently facing myself to the front window. I leaned my head on the door as far away as possible from Alice's earshot as though she could hear Charlie's voice from the other line. I had this ridiculous feeling that Alice was attentively listening the moment I answered the phone. And I also had this bad feeling deep inside my stomach that Charlie would say something embarrassing. I was so sure of that.

"Bells!" _Here we go_, I thought as I rolled my eyes again. "How are you doing, honey?"

"Umm. . . I'm fine, dad." I scratched my head thoughtlessly, which was, of course, suddenly becoming very itchy. "I'm on my way home." I said on purpose, wishing Charlie would get the meaning of my tone and end the conversation.

"Okay. So, er, is. . . is your—umm—Ms. Cullen with you?" Wow. There's no doubt Charlie was truly my father.

"Ye—yeah." I muttered, taking a furtive glance at Alice only to catch her fighting back a smile. My brows scrunched when she hid it right away as though she knew I was secretly looking at her. I cleared my throat loudly, wanting to clear my head as well. "Dad, I'm gonna call you back—"

"Oh, Bells, wait!" I groaned deep down, struggling not to shout at him and act rude in front of Alice. "I won't be home until eleven. You guys. . ." He coughed. It sounded like he did it purposefully. I sighed, thinking of how stupid this conversation was. "Have fun. I mean. . . do your homework and stuff." _Is doing homework fun!?_ "And, er, I left you fifty on the coffee table just in case you're hungry and want to eat out. No, you know, what you guys do if you're alone without a parent in the house. . . no girl to girl—" _Okay, Charlie that was really beyond gross!_

I was definitely aware I was rude for hanging up on my dad like that, but I was totally freaking out at what he was about to say. _What the heck was Charlie thinking, saying things like that?_ I quickly sent a brief text to Charlie saying my battery was almost empty so our connection was cut. He replied at once, saying it was fine. Fine. His reply was one humble letter _"K"_. I shrugged and put my phone in my back pocket.

Alice glanced at me with a faint amusement traced all over her perfect features. Her eyes were grinning. My heart skipped beats at the thought of her knowing our awkward conversation. "What did your father say?" _Oh._ And here I was thinking she had heard everything.

Her eyebrow raised questioningly when I just shrugged at her question. "Char—I mean my dad won't be coming home till eleven. And, umm, he kinda told me to eat out. I guess there's no more food in the fridge." I said honestly.

She laughed. "How about dining out with me?"

"Yeah sure. . . HUH!?" My eyes had literally bulged out from its sockets. "Wa—what did you say again?" I stuttered embarrassingly.

"I said you and I will have dinner together." Her smirk spread across her beautiful face. "I'm afraid there's no backing out. You already said yes." _Oh. Shit. Me and my stupid mouth._

* * *

"Hey." Alice called, capturing my attention. I was so busy fretting and zoning out that my mind went blank and all I could see was a black, empty space in front of me. Straightening up on my seat across her, I nervously met her gaze. She was staring at me curiously. I had to swallow hard at the way her fierce golden brown eyes traveled all over my face. She seemed unconscious of what she was doing. My heart stopped when her eyes lingered on my lips. I was about to open my mouth when, all of a sudden, she stood abruptly, not looking at me. "I—will you excuse me for a sec." That was the very first time I heard Alice stammered. She walked hurriedly out of our table to where the bathroom was.

I slumped on my seat with millions of questions swirling in my head. _What's wrong? What happened? What did I just do? Did I do something wrong? _

"You're doing perfectly fine, babe." _Oh my gosh!_ How could I forget her—the love of my life! "So, you're having a date without even telling me?" I could hear the tease in her voice, but I was still shaking deep inside at suddenly seeing her.

"Qui—Quinn. . ." My eyes instinctively swept through the area, checking if someone had heard me talking to myself. Apparently, that's what people would see unless they could also see her. She was sitting on the seat next to Alice's chair. "Where have you been?"

"Wow, now you're asking." She said sarcastically. "I was with you the whole time." She smiled the kind of smile that would usually send bolts of electricity down my spine. But this time, I didn't feel a thing. Only a tiny spark of fear. Her smile slowly melted as she looked at me closely in the eye. Her unblemished face became blank. "She's here." She said softly. "Don't make a fool out of yourself again." She smiled. But I could tell it was strained.

And just like Quinn said, Alice came out the bathroom. She was dipping her head, walking gracefully to our table. Unconsciously, a smile crossed my lips when I descried her glancing at me. And at that very moment, I felt a nervous warmth grew inside my chest. All I saw was her walking so slow toward me with a peculiar smile on her lips and those eyes that would instantly melt my soul.

"Sorry, I have to answer an important call." She said, smiling apologetically as she sat back on her seat. I had to hold back a wide, amused grin from forming on my face. But miserably failed. How could I contain myself if the ones in front of me were the two of the most beautiful creatures in the universe? I nodded my head in agreement. _Oh yeah, I am one lucky girl._

* * *

Alice and I ate our food in silence after our super, ultra, mega courteous waitress served our excessively overpriced meal. I was munching my food gently and quietly, mimicking how Alice chewed her food. _Oh, God. Please give me strength! I can't go on eating like this._

I heard Quinn laughed amusedly. I ignored her and focused on my food. I didn't want to waste any more energy. I would be needing all my strength to push down the food to my stomach.

"Don't you like it?" Alice asked, worry was evident in her tone. "I should have ordered something else for you." She ordered all grass for the both of us. I was impressed of her being a strict vegetarian while I was a die-hard meat lover. I did not complain since she's the one paying. People, I did an effort asking her that we should at least split the bill, but she strongly insisted that she should be the one paying everything since she was the one asking me to have dinner with her. I knew how stubborn she was so I let her be. She's rich. I didn't need to be a martyr.

I looked up to see her stopped eating. I swallowed before I answered. "It's good. I actually kinda like it."

She regarded me skeptically. "You should have ordered something you _actually_ like."

I chuckled at that. "I didn't know you're ordering cows' food. They do sound like delicious meat to me."

"Well, you can always ask." To my wild surprise, Alice and Quinn said at the same time. My eyes widened, glancing from Quinn to Alice and vice versa.

"Bella, what's the matter?" Alice whispered, leaning closer to the table. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

_Yeah. A very dazzling ghost. _I thought while biting my tongue to keep me from uttering those words. I saw Quinn smirked at one corner of my eye. "No. I'm just—it's nothing." I assured her.

She narrowed her eyes a little; her lips nearly parted. But she sealed it away before she went back on her food.

* * *

After our highly _splendid_ meal, Alice paid everything with her platinum card. Before we got out of our table, she left a hundred and fifty for the waitress. Once Alice had her back turned, I debated with my inner, evil self not to grab the smiling Benjamin Franklin. The voice in my head was persisting and argumentative. _Get it, Bella! Get it!_

_I am not a thief for heaven's sake! _I argued with my own thought, scurrying toward the exit before I could do something stupid and embarrassing. _I am not a cheap punk for crying out loud! _I told myself again, this time, more loudly in my head. I wanted to shut off the horrid voice, who was still nagging at me for not doing what he said.

Quinn chuckled, now walking behind Alice toward the driver side of my truck. "A devil was whispering in your ear." I shuddered at the thought and immediately hopped in the passenger seat as if to get away from what Quinn had said. "He's still at your back, you know." She said, laughing.

My face scrunched quizzically, looking at her sitting behind the driver seat. How could she always answer my thoughts? It was like she knew everything what was on my head.

"Oh, baby. You should get everything by now."

I was about to talk back when the door at the driver's side creaked open followed by a bewildered Alice. "Why in a hurry?" She asked innocently.

"You shouldn't leave your girlfriend number two just like that. Now, she's pissed." Quinn teased.

_Girlfriend number two? What are you talking about! _I smiled at Alice, hoping she would go along with my weirdness yet secretly giving Quinn a snappy retort.

She arched a perfect eyebrow, looking suspicious as ever. She got in behind the wheel smoothly and I couldn't help myself swoon at how cool she was. "You know, Bella, you are as weird as Edward." She said with a smirk before the engine roared to life.

* * *

"No way! Okay, I admit I'm _somewhat _weird. I zone out, I stutter. . . all the time. But definitely not as weird as him." I rebutted, only after the shock had ceased in my system.

"And not to mention talking to a ghost." Quinn added. "You know what they say, you'll be free once you'll learn to love a dancing baboon." She said calmly.

My annoyed face crumpled into a more annoyed frown. I wanted to laugh but I didn't want to. I was debating to myself again on what to do. Before I could think of what to say, Alice had beaten me to it.

"Okay, I was wrong. Just stop moping about it already. I'm not used to it." I looked sideways to see Alice. I didn't know what expression was on my face but when she glanced at me, her lips lifted into a smile. The most beautiful smile I had ever seen her wearing. "That's more like it."

I shook my head, feeling lost. "What?"

"You're smiling." _I was?_ "You should smile all the time, Bella. You're smile is contagious. It's beautiful." She looked back on the road. "As beautiful as you." She mumbled before biting her lower lip, glancing at me.

I didn't know I was holding my breath until I had the need to breathe hard. When I breathed, I choked, desperately coughing and grasping for air. Alice stopped the truck, roughly searching for something around her. "Water!" She shouted. "Why there's no battle of water in here!" She went frantic, advancing her search at the back seat.

"Bella, you have one in your bag." Quinn pointed. As always, she was placid of the whole situation.

Seconds before I could grab my bag, Alice handed me the bottle of water, which I gladly took and drank a sufficient amount of the soothing liquid. "Thanks." I said, breathing hard. "How did you know I have one in my bag?"

She sat back on the driver seat before she answered my question. "I had just thought about it." She did not look at me or say anything else after that.

The drive was awkward and silent for the next twenty minutes. Quinn was gone again after that incident so I really didn't have someone to talk to even in my head. We passed the main highway, crossing the many big-time ACE establishments. Was it just me or the ACE gigantic signboards were multiplying? The last time I checked, which was the other day, it wasn't these many. "How on earth can they do that?" I unconsciously muttered to myself.

"What?" I peeked at Alice, who had her eyes casted on the road the entire time.

I shook my head, looking back out my window. "Nothing." I instantly felt two questioning eyes bored into the back of my head. I sighed inwardly, turning my body to face her. "I'm just. . . curious." I was originally planning to tell her I was irritated at seeing too many ACEs, but deep inside me screamed not to say that. That it would be so wrong to utter that word to her face.

"Of what?" She said, her damn beautiful eyes were still on the road.

"Of these ACE establishments." I answered plainly.

I noticed the corner of her lips lifted. _Huh! She's smiling._ "What about it?"

I shrugged. "I'm just wondering who the owner is. He seems like a big, fat, selfish, restless tycoon."

Alice laughed, tilting her head up so her mouth was slightly ajar. "I can imagine." She finally looked at me; her eyes were shining. "So, do you have any more comments besides how the owner looks like?"

"I think that's it for now. My vocabulary is rather limited." I smiled, knowing that she would not stop until she would get what she wanted. I grinned at the thought, sending her a sly wink.

* * *

But much to my surprise, Alice did not pester me about it. After that stupid wink, she was tongue-tied the entire drive to my house. I badly regretted what I did after that. She only asked one, two, three questions about directions since my house was obviously located in another dimension.

"We're here at last." I mumbled after she turned off the engine. I jumped off the truck, turning around when I did not hear her getting off. "You won't go inside?" I asked, closing the passenger door.

"Maybe next time." She said before looking at her watch. "My drive will be here any. . . second."

Just after she said that, I heard a car dashing toward us. And before I knew it, Alice got out the truck with a broad smirk plastered on her amused face. I followed Alice's sight and saw her hair-raising silver Aston Martin one-77 parked gorgeously several yards from where we stood. My attention quickly darted to the very tall and very huge man with dark curly hair coming out from the driver side.

"Always on time." Alice said, treading as graceful as ever toward her oh-so-awesome car.

"Well, I was born that way." The sturdy, terrifying man said as he rested his huge ass on the shiny hood. I cringed at the sight. If that car could only whine. "Who. Is. That?"

I froze on my spot as his dark blue eyes locked on mine. His eyes narrowed with a strange yet familiar twist on his red lips. After a while, his lips slowly formed into a lopsided smirk as two deep dimples appeared on each side of his cheeks. He was very good-looking yet very, very intimidating.

"Em, that's Bella, mine and Edward's classmate." Alice answered cheerily, glancing at me. "Bella, this huge ugly guy, who's confidently sitting on my car right here. . ." She playfully smacked the bear-guy on his leg of an arm then glanced back at me. _Please don't say your boyfriend. _"is my uncle, Emmett." _I thought so! _

"Huh!?" _Oh._

Emmett snickered hard, which caused the car to quake. Alice rolled her eyes, shaking her head all together. She didn't look mad though.

"You think I'm Alice's boyfriend, don't you, Bella?" Emmett said after jumping off the hood, which had also caused the car to bounce. I really had to cringe at that. _What a strong man! __Poor silver baby. _

Because I was so smart to say something, I just nodded my head in response. I shifted my weight to my left, becoming all edgy as he was, like a hungry predator, marching to my direction. _Is he going to kill me? _

He stopped a few feet in front of me, totally towering my height. "Bella, as for your information, I am still single and highly available." He cleared his throat twice and inhaled deeply that his monstrous chest expanded widely. "I may look like a fully grown man, but _I_, my lady, still belong to your age."

I bit my lip hard to keep myself from laughing. He was so deadly intimidating in appearance but had an cheerful, childish personality. What a lovely combination! "So, umm, how old are you again?" I had to ask that. His carefree attitude really piqued my curiosity.

"He's twenty-six." Alice said behind us. "But acting like six." Emmett sighed loudly, dropping his chest and shoulders. He marched back to Alice's side with a big pout on his face. "Sorry about him, Bella. He's an idiot sometimes." She added, teasingly poking him on his stomach, which made him laugh along with her. Alice looked so small and delicate next to Emmett. They were like David and Goliath. Looking at them being so close and cute together, I couldn't deny they're family. Just like Alice and Edward, Emmett had flawless, ivory skin and suave, graceful bearings, and was wearing the best designer clothes._ Wow._ I gotta love this family. They're freaking perfect.

"Nah, it's cool." I smiled at him, who was grinning like a small boy, bobbing his head to Alice. I stepped closer to them. "Thank you for, umm, everything. I truly had fun." I told her sincerely, flashing a sweet smile.

She mirrored my smile and stepped more closer. "It's my pleasure." She extended her right hand swiftly for me to shake. I took it without a second thought and right there and then, every element of my being frenziedly reacted at the mere touch of her warm skin. I felt all my hair raised, my blood boiled in a ferocious state, and my senses heightened like a newly deflowered virgin experiencing her first orgasm. I stared at her in awe, completely surprised and confused at the same time. We held hands shortly yesterday, but the feeling was not like this. This was a whole new different feeling that I had first encountered in my life. The nervousness in my stomach went up to my chest as my eyes flickered on her lips. Her full lips thinned as if she was fighting not to say something. She, too, was staring at my lips for a while longer before I met her gaze again. We stood there, held hands, looking at each other in the eye. At that moment, I knew what I was feeling. And this couldn't be happening.

**to be continued.**

* * *

**Here it is, guys. Do you like short chapters or just the usual. Lemme know what you think. Till next time. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

"Isabella." She whispered temptingly against my mouth; her delicate arms were clinging around my neck possessively. I unconsciously shivered at the sound of her voice. It felt so surreal having to hear my name uttered seductively by those sexy lips. "Kiss me." Electricity and fire all came rushing through every fiber of my flesh as her warm, stimulating breath had, once again, moistened my lips. My mouth slightly parted, ready to devour her hungry ones. I opened my eyes, a satisfied smile formed my lips at the incredibly breathtaking sight. Her look were undeniably captivating and erotic. She was looking at me ardently; her gaze was burning; it was so alive and intense. I could clearly see my bare soul in those hot, penetrating orbs. Closing my eyes again, I pressed my lips against hers, already getting lost by the softness and the ecstatic feeling of her cool lips. Her hands leisurely moved around my body, exploring every part and inch of it. "I want you." She said shortly after breaking off the kiss.

Opening my eyes, I smiled. "I want you, too, Alice."

* * *

I opened my eyes at once; my heart was pumping so hard that I felt my insides quaked with my heartbeat. All I could hear was the strong, erratic throb in my chest. The tingles I got from my dream were still proudly lingering on my skin. The heat in me was suffocating. I could literally feel the gust of blood rushed to every vein of my body. Even with the intenseness of the dream, I felt so exhausted as though all of my strength and energy were sucked out of me. I could not even move my fingertips; I could hardly breathe.

I stared at the white ceiling blankly, thinking about the same exact dream that haunted me for days. That started on the night Alice drove me home, four days ago. The same night that I had discovered something in me, something undesirable to begin with. I sighed, shutting my eyes tight. I didn't want to imagine. I didn't want to remember. I didn't want to think. I didn't want this feeling, not a bit. But why did it feel so good? Deep inside me cherished it more than I actually despised it. I groaned loudly on my bed, desperately wanting to dispatch the inappropriate thought away, far away from this world; so far away where Quinn could not hear my thoughts. I would be damned if that would happen.

_Why? Why is this happening to me of all people?_ I had been nothing but good and faithful to the girl I had loved, to the _only_ girl I should have feelings for. _This is so wrong. So, so wrong. _

"Isabella?"

It was as if everything within me was revived from the netherworld. It had been three days since I last saw her.

My hormones, my senses were livened up at hearing the sweet, distinct voice of my girlfriend. My head abruptly swiveled to the beautiful sound on my right. I felt my lips upturned into a smile. She was so beautiful. I could not even finger a word to express how I felt at seeing her angelic features. She was so amazingly perfect in every way, but the most radiant part was her eyes. Her deep green eyes. I could visibly see the love she had for me. How ravishing; how intoxicating; how tragic. I swallowed hard at the thought. _How could I do this to her?_

"Please, do not cry." Quinn said quietly. I wasn't aware that I was crying until I felt droplets ran down my cheeks. I could see my reflection in her beautiful, sad eyes. A small smile crept her divine face as she stared longingly at me. It was all I needed to live. Her and her alone—my Quinn, my love, my soul mate.

"I love you." I whispered; my voice badly croaked; my heart ached at saying those words. Why did it felt like it was so wrong? I bit my bottom lip hard as I thought of that. The gnawing guilt consumed me that I burst out crying_._ I wished I could tell her how awful I felt; how miserable I had been; how sorry I was. But I had no balls to say those to her. I was as weak as a dying hag.

"Bella, when I was alive I complicated things by controlling everything—school, friends, my family, my relationships, my life . . . you." She said softly. Looking back at her, I impulsively stopped crying. The sadness in her eyes was heartbreaking. All the living cells in my body went still; I was paralyzed. "I am sad that it would take death to make me see the consequences of what I did." The brilliance in her smile slowly melted. "I always believed that if you truly cared for someone, you would never let them go. That was my greatest mistake. Fortunately for me, I am given an opportunity to correct my wrongs."

I shook my head in disbelief. Why was she saying these things to me? It felt like she was breaking up with me indirectly. I knew my fault but I had never acted on my feelings. After that night, I avoided Alice and everyone at school. I had been skipping lunch to stay away from all the people who were giving me the stares. I even dropped my first quiz on Physics to avoid being alone with Alice. I withdrew myself from her, from everyone. I did all of those for her, for us. Because I still believed in the vow we pledged, the promise that we would love each other for eternity. I could never let myself ruin that; I would rather be alone for the rest of my life.

"I know it's not easy but you have to learn to accept the changes, Bella." Quinn said, disrupting my thought. "There are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason. We may not understand it at first, but when we learn to accept it, it will be so easy for us to understand what is happening around us." Her presence was oozing with genial glow that, for the first time in four days, I felt so reassured that everything would be fine. But no matter how good I was feeling, I knew this feeling hidden inside of me was still so wrong. "Do not be afraid. That's what I am here for. I'm here to support you accept these changes . . ." She smiled. "to guide you to where you should be."

That stirred me. I sat up too quickly, looking at her eyes steadily. "Lucy Quinn Fabray," I said, my tone was serious. "Enlighten me; you are too vague for my understanding. I am not too smart, remember?"

She grinned amusedly as she sat on the bed with her legs crossed. "You are smart. That's one of the countless reasons why I fell in love you, Miss Swan." She retaliated. Her eyes narrowed slightly as her face became blank again. I inhaled deeply and quietly as I was becoming very uneasy under her scrutinizing gaze. "Acknowledge it, Isabella, the feeling inside of you." She said then smiling subtly. I couldn't tell if she was happy or mad, because the way she uttered it sounded like a demand. A strict demand.

It took me ages to realize the meaning of what she said. _Oh, mother of the cows! _I almost screamed that out loud, but was distracted by the heavenly music playing in my ears. I did not know what I looked like at that point but when realization hit me, she laughed merrily like everything about the world was so funny.

"You're still into cows." She said, shaking her head with a big smile.

I couldn't help but pout at that. "I will _always_ and _forever_ love them, especially their delicious, juicy meat." After saying that, she fell silent. The big smile on her face was gone. "Baby," I tried to voice out my feelings, but the fright of losing her had stopped me from speaking. She's everything to me; I couldn't afford to lose her. This unwanted feeling I had newly learned would surely pass in time, but what Quinn and I had would live forever.

"I know how you feel about me . . . more than you ever know." She smiled sadly and I found myself smiling sadly back at her. "And I also know how you feel for—"

I did not let her finish as my body jumped out of the bed. I looked at her incredulously. I felt my face burned. I was panting. I was infuriated. "No!" I shook my head furiously. "No." I repeated, shutting my eyes as tears threatened to fall again. "I love _you_, Q." The hairs on my neck started to elevate. Goose bumps ran down my spine as I felt a cold yet soothing air grazed my face.

"You know I love you, too." She said so tenderly that at the very moment, I wanted to grab her desperately in my arms and never let her go. "But are you saying that to assure me or to assure yourself?" I opened my eyes and saw her smiling so sweetly at me. "You are fully aware of the answer, Isabella. You are already aware of what you are feeling." I could hear my own tense breathing as I gazed at her eyes. "Accept it." She lipped the words I dreaded to hear.

"Why?" I questioned loudly, badly wanting to know why she allowed this mistake to happen. "You should not tolerate this madness! You should get mad at me for what I have done. Having this feeling for someone else is so wrong and _you_, of all people, should know that! You should hate me; forsake me; make my life a living hell!" I frantically said all of it in one breath. "Because you are Quinn Fabray—_my_ Quinn Fabray." I added softly before I averted her gaze. "_Please_, just—just tell me I'm wrong so I could tell you how sorry I am. Please, I'm begging you . . ."

"If I were alive, yes, I would have probably done that the moment I heard your thoughts and saw you squirmed with excitement of seeing her." I looked at her; hurt and regret etched on her beautiful face. "Look," Her features were suddenly as firm as her voice. "We make mistakes and that's normal; we are only humans. We lack the wisdom to understand and know everything. However, that feeling you have right now is never a mistake, Bella. Since it is only natural for two destined souls to attract one another." She smiled reassuringly. "You shouldn't be sorry. Instead, relish it. Hold on to it like there is no tomorrow."

"I don't get it!" My face scrunched. "What the heck are you talking about, Q? I am only destined to be with no one but _you_!"

"Yes, you _were_ destined to be with me, but I was only a mere passerby, Bella. Your story has yet to be concluded." I was about to open my mouth to counter the ridiculous things she said, but she halted me. "Let me finish." She said sternly. "You decide. Accept it and the right things will slowly fall into place or continue to reject it and live the rest of your life being lonely and miserable. You have to remember, being happy or sad is always a choice." She said, her eyes darkened. "Because of my own selfish desires, I unintentionally put your future into chaos. I made you believe that you are for me. What is wrong is the road you are walking now. You are choosing the wrong path when you fixed your mind not to love again. You even shut your heart from the beautiful, happy future destined for you. Trust me, I'd seen it." Her face lifted but it quickly changed into a sad frown. "And I'd also seen the end of this path. I want you to be happy, Bella. The reason I am here is to help you move forward, to help you accept that it is okay to be happy and love again. Fate already helped you _clear _some things. All you have to do is chase after your future . . . chase after the one for you. And I think you already know who it is."

"This is insane." I unconsciously mumbled the words in my head. "You're telling me _Alice_—" My eyes widened at the thought. "You mean—" I shook my head stupidly. "Impossible!" I almost shouted, continuously shaking my head. "No. Way. Heaven and Earth will never allow that to happen. There is no way that will happen."

"That's where you are wrong." I looked deep into her eyes. The word sincerity was written all over it. "Why do you think I'm here for? A special vacation to see you?" She could certainly hear my thoughts, no doubt about that. "Listen to me very carefully, Isabella." I stood stiff at the sound of her voice; the small smirk on my lips faded. I had no idea how long we stared at each other but I was sure it was quite a while. Her hand slid down to my chest as she looked at me. "_This_ is your last chance. Do not push away the person who is meant for you just because you are too afraid of hurting your dead girlfriend."

I shook my head, closing my eyes. "Please, stop it, Q. Please, just stop. I don't want to hear any more of it. This is so ridiculous." I said as tears were starting to fall.

"It's all right." I could hear the smile in her voice. "I want you to know that you are free. You are free to be happy, Bella. So _please,_ be happy for me." The soothing cold that was on my face traveled all over my body comfortingly. I smiled sadly as I knew she was embracing me. "When you wake up, follow where your heart is. Do not waste this chance. Do not falter. Run and tell her how you feel before it is too late."

"What do you mean?" I said as I opened my eyes, but the sudden intense white light came from nowhere blinded me for a second. "Q, what's happening?" Squinting my eyes, I looked at my surroundings. My room was gone. Quinn was gone. I was alone in a white empty space. "Quinn?" I shouted when I felt my whole body quaked.

"_Bella?"_

I quickly turned around, responding to the voice. "Dad? Is that you? Where are you?"

"_Bells?"_

"Dad?"

"Bells? Bells, wake up, honey."

I groaned loudly as I felt my hair being yanked off my scalp mercilessly. It took me a heartbeat to realize it was my own two hands tearing my hair off, almost making myself hairless. I opened my eyes groggily and saw Charlie's awkward face, looking at me worriedly. "Dad, it's so early in the morning. What's the fuss?" I mumbled as I slowly pushed myself up.

"It's Saturday." He said so serious that it sounded like I was being reprimanded of something crucial.

"Um, yeah, I'm aware of that." I responded, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why are you waking me so early?"

"It's almost twelve. If you haven't forgotten—"

"Twelve!? Holy cow!" I exclaimed, immediately jumping out of the bed. "Dad, the interview is at one." I said as I rummaged through a pile of decent clothes in my old cabinet.

Charlie sighed. "Why do you have to do this, Bells? Is your allowance, um, not enough?"

I turned to look at him. His eyebrows knitted together. "Dad, you know I need to do this."

"Uh right, you need extra cash? How much do you need?" He was about to grab his wallet in his back pocket but I halted him.

"Dad," I smiled lightly, hoping to convince the soft side of him. He still did not like the idea of me taking a part time job. He was mostly concerned of Rene's reaction. "You worry too much. It's just a small job at Mike's."

"What would your mother say?" _Here we go again._ "Rene will not hesitate to barge at my office once she'll know I let our only daughter work." He grabbed my shoulders, squeezing it gently. "Bells, high school is the time for you to play and make friends and prepare for college. Not spending your free time at a small store in a faraway land. Okay, you can do whatever you want _once_ you enter college. Since you're still in high school—"

"Dad, please? I got this, okay?" I retorted, stopping him in the middle of a very long, irritating speech. I knew that because I already heard the same, exact words a thousand times since I told him about Mike offering me a part-time job at his parent's store.

He sighed again, finally releasing me. "Is that really what you want?" His face was firm but his dark brown eyes silently pleaded me to say what he wanted to hear.

"Yes." I said stubbornly, before turning around to walk toward the open door.

* * *

The drive was somewhat backbreaking. Charlie was right. Mike's store, the well-known _Newton's Olympic Outfitters_, was located at the middle of another freaking woodland in another freaking dimension. It was a whole new place, a pretty good place for campers, hikers, sightseers, and those people who simply wanted to get lost.

I got out of my truck after parking in front of a large rectangular signboard next to the average-looking store. Scrutinizing its façade, it looked more like a typical wooden cabin than a sporting goods store. Mike's annoying face was the first thing I spotted after I got inside. "Hey, Bella!" He called too eagerly, waving at me with a huge smile. "Wow, you're almost an hour late. I thought you forgot about today. I'm about to send you a text." He said as I headed toward the counter where he leisurely stood at.

"I weren't be if this place wasn't too far from human society." I reasoned, not minding the fact that he might be my boss. I sighed inwardly at the thought. "Sorry." I said almost in a whisper but I made sure it was loud enough for him to hear. He was the only person who persistently approached me even after obviously being a bitch at school. Mike should, at least, deserve to be treated nicely. Okay, fairly.

"No, you're right. This place is, um, what can I say?" He muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Er, anyway Bella, are you ready on your first day?" He said, his face lifted excitedly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean the interview?"

He chuckled. "No, I meant your first day of work." He grabbed a blue polo shirt on the shelf behind him and handed it to me with a disgustingly smug look on his face. "You're hired!" He cheered proudly. "Go to the bathroom to the left and change. You're wearing that; that's your uniform."

_Wow! That was easy._ I wondered."So, you're the boss of me now, sir Newton?" I asked out loud, not intending to sound comical. Mike frowned. It looked as if he was expecting me to say _"Oh, thank you, Mike! I love you so much!"_ Nope. That would never happen, not in a million years. _Sorry, pal. I just don't like the garbage in between your legs. _I grinned as I thought to myself. "Um, yeah, okay. I'll go change." I said quickly as I trudged toward the blue door.

When I went out the bathroom, I heard a smooth, manly voice with a trace of Italian accent followed by Mike's grating, kindergarten tone. They exchanged a few words until Mike excused himself to get what the man was looking for. As I was getting nearer to the counter, there was a tall, well-built man standing with his back facing me. He had a wavy, honey-blond hair that reached slightly above his collar. My line of sight traced from his head down to his foot. _Wow._ This man got a classy taste. I didn't know why or how but when he turned around and looked at me, my heart beat faster. I was nervous all of a sudden.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." The man said, flashing a very alluring smile. He was not only courteous and seemingly rich, he was so damn handsome and elegantly charming. I could picture him as the perfect human Adonis, having a flawless face, beautiful brown eyes, and sexy, full lips. I thought Edward was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, but this guy—who was taller than him and way, way nicer—proved me wrong. A pleasing personality would definitely make a huge bonus.

"Bella, is something wrong?"

Mike's irritating call snapped me out of my stupor. I blinked many times before I became fully conscious of my predicament. I closed my mouth at once, which was partly open after getting a load of this strikingly handsome guy. He was still standing in front of me; his kind, captivating smile never left his lips. Mike stepped closer; his face was stern as he glanced sideways, looking at him fiercely. His expression softened when he looked at me. I pressed my lips, holding down a chuckle. _Oh, gosh!_ Mike looked like an ugly gremlin compared to this man's awesomeness. Well, Mike would always be Mike. That I could never complain.

* * *

The time seemed extra slow as I patiently waited for the day to end. My first day was okay;_ I_ _guess_. I did not do a thing except sitting behind the counter, smiling silently to myself as Mike did all the work especially entertaining the _male_ customers. He let me talk to one female customer though, which I thought was not really necessary.

Since it was Saturday, a number of people had dropped by to buy camping equipment, but mostly, people had come to ask questions and directions from time to time. I believed the Newton's would earn triple by answering inquiries than selling gears.

If I would be honest with myself, I would say my day was boring except when the man was in the store. We had a light but fun chat about the town, the weather, and anything under the sun. I kind of felt bad that he had only been in the store for a short while. He was my first customer, a real gentleman and a very hot one at that. It appeared to me he was from Italy considering his Italian accent. He also mentioned he was new in Forks and was only staying here for a couple of weeks to be with his _fiancée_. So sweet of him to do that. I wondered what her fiancée was like. Such a lucky girl and such a perfect guy. It was too bad I didn't get to know his name since Mike had never left my side. He was closely watching us with his eyes piercing into the man's beautiful face. Yeah, If looks could kill all right.

After closing the store, Mike was following me around like a lost puppy, asking—no, it was more like _begging_ me to go out with him. He finally stopped when I got in my truck and gave him my very firm _NO_. He looked so upset that he did not say anything and went back inside the store. I started the engine, totally ignoring Mike and drove to where I planned to be. Buying groceries at the freaking _ACE Hypermart_.

* * *

It took me over an hour to reach my awesome destination. I took out my phone in my back pocket after cutting the engine off. There was a text message from Charlie asking how my first day was. I sent a reply saying it was great and added that I was currently at the grocery store. When I got out of the truck, a breeze of cold wind brushed my body just as a sprinkle of raindrops tickled my skin.

_Just wonderful. _

I sighed loudly, putting my phone back in my pocket and decided to run toward the entrance. But before I could even make a step, I was halted by the incredibly heart-stopping giggles maybe a few yards to my right. Hearing the distinct voices made my heart pound violently. I was nervous. No, that was an understatement; I was scared.

I didn't know what got into me but when the laughters grew nearer and louder, I instinctively hid myself behind my truck as though my life had depended on it. I did not realize my body fell into the ground until I felt my hands grazed the rough pavement. I did not even care if I was soaked and freezing to death nor if I looked retarded. One thing was for sure, I was completely out of my mind.

When the laughters subsided, the awful feeling in my stomach rushed up to my chest until I felt it all over me—the proud goose bumps, the angry butterflies, the huge, thorny boulder in my chest, the sting in my eyes—though strangely disturbing, these all had made me see what my brain refused to see.

As reality dawned on me, all of the emotions I had never known grew intensely. It felt like someone had threw a thousand grenades on my face, stabbed me in the chest with a billion knives, and fed my wounded flesh to the hungry, crazy cows. I was so wrong when I thought I was scared. I wasn't. Rather, I was unconsciously hurting deep inside; I was in pain.

I would have never thought I would be able to experience such a phenomenal yet heartbreaking moment. Everything was in precise slow motion: the harsh spatter of the rain that pierced through my chest; the flash of lightning in the darkest, despairing sky; the roar of the thunder that equaled to the voice inside my head; and the pitiful sound of my breath as I staggered desperately to say something and be on my feet. I was hopeless as I watched a magical scene took place right before my very own eyes. Right after their romantic kiss, the man embraced the girl longingly and whispered something in her ear. The sweet, loving smile on the girl's lips was the most heartbreaking and appalling of all as she said, _"I love you, too, Jasper."_

_No. _

"Alice!"

**to be continued.**

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. Really busy, exams and everything. But you know despite the tight schedule, I would always make sure I still had a time for this. Hope you'll also take time and say something, review or comment. It will surely make me a lot happier. :)**


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